EMPLOYMENT minister Esther McVey will open a new technical training centre in Bolton today, as United Utilities seeks to plug a growing gap in engineering skills.

The company has invested £1.5 million in the new centre in Kearsley as part of its drive to recruit more than 1,000 new engineers and technical employees by 2023.

Ms McVey will take a tour of the purpose-built facility and meet some of the young apprentices who have already been taken on by the company as part of its training and apprenticeship programme,

Sally Cabrini, business services director at United Utilities, said it was ‘critical’ for the company to invest in people and the skills needed to help the company in the future,

She added: “Across the utility sector we have an aging workforce and we’ve got to pass on their skills to the next generation before time runs out.

“We estimate that around half of the current workforce will have left or retired over the next decade.

The training centre has been created at one of United Utilities’ working sites, Bolton wastewater treatment works, by extending and refurbishing a redundant operational building.

The facilities, including a mock sewer, mechanical and electrical workshops and  a laboratory and even a mock sewer system, were designed by time-served engineers who have taken qualifications in education and training. 

United Utilities’ apprenticeship programme, which has a new intake of 30-40 young people each year, sees all trainees who successfully complete a four year course offered a job at the company.