SOUTH Eastern Regional College (SERC) is the first in Northern Ireland to offer a new course addressing the rise of hybrid and electric vehicles.
By investing in the development of a new training programme for staff, the college hopes to prepare them for the rise in demand for servicing these technologically advanced vehicles.
SERC is offering a specialist cer-tificate in hybrid and electric vehicle technology for qualified technicians to ensure they have the technical skills and know how to service modern day sustainable vehicles.
The new course, delivered at SERC’s Lisburn campus, covers hybrid and electric vehicle technology, vehicle operation, maintenance and repair, advanced diagnostics and other technological and electronic automotive innovations.
It focuses mainly on the specialist skills that are required to safely service hybrid and electric vehicles.
SERC principal and chief executive Ken Webb said: “The shift to low car-bon technology creates challenges when an existing workforce must retrain as a result of changing consumer demand and low carbon vehicle advancements.
“We understand how hard it is for businesses to upskill employees with demands on their time and money. That’s why we make it as easy as possible for participants by working with them to minimise the impact of releasing staff. It’s a real partnership.”
Participants on the course received discount off the cost of training thanks to funding provided by the Depart-ment for Employment and Learning’s Customised Training Fund.
SERC says it can offer expert advice, access to the latest industry specific equipment and solutions based on individual businesses.
It also offers unique access to state-of-the-art technologies, facilities and expertise, providing a cost effective, fast-turn around service tailored to suit individual requirements.
Meanwhile, Strabane based company, Frylite are to create 19 new jobs as part of a £2m investment plan.
The company supplies, collects and recycles cooking oils for a range of foodservice customers in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Europe.
With support from Invest NI it has invested almost £2m in a new waste oil treatment plant, the development of washing and drying technology and enhanced marketing activities.
Frylite Managing Director, Eamon McCay said: “This is a substantial ex-pansion project for us that will enable us to consolidate our position as market leader in the supply of fresh oils in Northern Ireland and RoI, as well as help accelerate our growth in the collection and recycling of waste oils.
“The investment in waste oil pro-cessing enables us to meet new inter-national sustainability and carbon certification requirements and to offer our customers services that help them to do so.
“It will strengthen our competitive edge and enable us to develop new business opportunities that we’ve identified in Great Britain and other parts of Europe for our waste oil serv-ices.”