Pictured above: Terence Donnelly, Donnelly Motor Group, Catherine Bell, Deputy Secretary, DEL, Maire Thérèse McGivern, Director and Chief Executive, BMC, Martin Hutchinson, National Manager, IMI.     

Belfast Metropolitan College’s new Automotive Academy was officially opened by Catherine Bell, Deputy Secretary, Department for Employment and Learning.  The event was attended by over 100 representatives from the NI motor industry to hear how this innovative training model will raise the skills of the automotive industry in the Province.

Located in Mallusk, the BMC Automotive Academy has been established as a “one stop shop” for the training needs of the Automotive Industry in Northern Ireland.

Speaking at the official opening, Catherine Bell, Deputy Secretary, Department for Employment and Learning stated;

“Partnership working between government, employers and education and training providers has never been as important as it is today. The training through the Academy provides skill development vital to the future needs of our economy and will bring real benefits to the lives of many people.”

Belfast Metropolitan College has made a significant investment in the Automotive Academy and it houses the latest state of the art training equipment which includes an industry standard MOT test lane, 1000 hp rolling road dynamometer, truck brake testing equipment, Bosch Texa and various other industry standard diagnostic test systems.

Mr. Ken Philpott, Belfast Metropolitan College, Automotive Academy Manager stated;
“it is an immense privilege to lead the development of automotive industry specific programmes designed to deliver direct and measurable bottom line business benefits”

The BMC Automotive Academy is also involved in industry-leading research and development with various NI companies e.g. the development of a hydrogen additive system with Hydro Formance, and the development of a fuel additive to enhance fuel combustion with Soltron Ltd.

Future developments at the Academy include a new sales apprenticeship programme which includes Finance, Insurance, Sales and Relationship Building and also a Dealership Management Programme which is a flagship programme for NI with the first initial group planned to start April 2010.