NC Group increases its presence and facilities with Aycliffe site expansion

We have moved to a bigger home, thanks to increasing demand from companies offering local apprenticeships and other training programmes.

NC Group has a growing number of apprentices from employers on Aycliffe Business Park – and word of mouth is leading to even more employers seeking out its training programmes.

For that reason, NC Group has doubled its capacity in bigger premises, while staying within the park where it is best placed to serve the industrial community on its doorstep.

Ian Nelson, managing director of NC Group, says: “Everything we do is driven by the employers we work with – and that includes doubling our training capacity in new premises.

“We have a growing number of apprentices training with us and more employers on board and we have moved to provide the park with more options and flexibility around their training needs.”

A good number of full-time apprentices will start training with NC Group in September, as well as others on work-based apprenticeships.

“A lot of our success has been down to word of mouth – particularly over the last 12 months,” Ian says.

“Firms are contacting us saying they’ve heard from other companies that what we do is excellent – and that’s what has made them approach us.

“I think we are growing in recognition of the good work we are doing.

“We’ve got key personnel in place who have got strong industry knowledge.”

NC Group’s “huge” new training space now consists of five large training rooms and a large workshop downstairs.

The setup offers a mixture of practical spaces for engineering and manufacturing trainees, including CAD suites, PLC rigs, hand skills areas, mechanical maintenance and pneumatics areas, and modern, technology-enabled classrooms and meeting rooms, suitable for things like First Aid and leadership courses.

“Now that we have moved, we have got so much opportunity – probably double the space – so our capacity to provide training solutions has pretty much doubled,” Ian says.

“This also means that trainees don’t have to travel to other facilities off-site – we can provide everything in our new training academy.”

NC Group is immensely proud of its position supporting industrial partners on Aycliffe Business Park to become fit for the future, by training the next generation of employees.

“It’s massively important for the future,” Ian says of NC Group’s remit.

“There’s a big issue in relation to skills gaps and training providers like ourselves are doing our utmost to try to upskill the future workforce.

“Now that we have this academy, it puts us in a much better place to be able to do that.”

NC Group already works with large employers on the park and can now support companies of all sizes across the park and beyond, who would like to discuss their training requirements.

“We moved because of growing demand and we made the decision to accommodate companies of all sizes.”

Ian adds the firm’s flexibility is one of its biggest USPs, as it works around employers’ needs and requirements, from providing bespoke training plans to offering flexible training dates and spaces.

“We go out and see employers and ask what they need in terms of the skills and subjects trained and the timescales they require,” Ian says.

“We move trainer availability around to suit their needs.”

NC Group has recently taken on “a few key people” over the past couple of months and has the ability to invest in more machinery which may be required for some training programmes.

“We’re committed to constant investment to accommodate the employers’ needs,” Ian adds.

“We are evolving all the time, with some really specialist trainers, and look forward to supporting more employers with their training needs.”