The Oxfordshire Advanced Skills Training Centre becomes reality

The Oxfordshire Advanced Skills Training Centre becomes reality with opening of 3,800 sqm state-of-the-art facility at Culham in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

In August 2018, UKAEA received planning permission to start the construction of its brand new, 3,800 square metre training centre, OAS at Culham.

Now, just over a year later, OAS has welcomed its first cohort of apprentices into the state-of-the-art facility representing the culmination of the vision of UKAEA and strategic partner and specialist training provider, MTC Apprenticeships.

Teaching at the facility is now well underway as OAS looks to support the UK’s next generation of engineers who alongside the core fundamentals of engineering are also exposed on a daily basis to the future of technologies that will drive UK manufacturing’s competitive advantage through the cutting edge equipment found in the new centre’s 1,000sqm workshop.

UKAEA’s David Martin commented: “My journey started with OAS started in 2011, having the light bulb moment was the easy part, getting the funding was more difficult. In 2016 BEIS saw the potential for OAS to have a substantial impact on its skills agenda and funded the project. Even though I have been running the project since 2016 I am still amazed at what we have achieved.

“The vision was an employer-led skills hub that would provide high-quality training contextualised by being delivered in the workplace, but OAS is so much more than that. We have created something very special here that has the potential to impact careers and business performance for decades to come.”

Take a look at the timelapse video below to see how the vision became a reality in just under 12 months. It takes just over a minute and is well worth the watch.