Logic4training - Sittingbourne wins LCL Awards’ Electrical Award
14 Aug 2024
Logic4training’s Sittingbourne site won Electrical Centre of the Year at our recent Awards event at the Hilton Leicester.
The centre, which was taken over by Logic4training in May 2019 has been extensively redeveloped to make it the up-to-date training facility it is today. Keen to find out why the judges picked it as the winning electrical entry, we spoke to Phil Hickey, Centre Manager and Nigel Harman, Head of Electrical:
Phil, who had been Lead IQA at Access Training in Welwyn Garden City, before joining Logic4training in 2019, oversaw the new build and has worked closely with Nigel over the last five years.
“We were lucky with the site, there’s lots of space. When we re-modelled the centre, we took fifteen and a half tonnes of plaster board out of the original building, which gives you a sense of the scale of the redevelopment work we undertook!
“Because we’ve plenty of room, we’ve been able to purpose build electrical facilities designed by experienced training professionals, so they’re absolutely fit for purpose and provide a safe and comfortable environment - highly conducive to learning. Another advantage has been having the room to physically separate the training and assessment areas, in line with best practice and Awarding Organisation requirements.
“We focus on renewables and have set up rigs to help our candidates practice their theory in bespoke demonstration areas. It’s been interesting to see electrical training develop over the last few years. Our two newest rigs are for EV charging and battery storage – two areas that have become increasingly popular with learners. The facilities we have for Solar PV and heat pumps are equally good and Nigel, who built the rigs is keen to demonstrate how important renewables will be in the future careers of electrical engineers.
We’ve been forward looking, not only with regards to the qualifications we offer, but also the way we do things here. There’s a strong focus on IT which is used extensively throughout the centre for both training and administration. We offer our learners online resources such as Club Logic and Google classroom and most exams and assessments are IT based. The extensive use of electronic portfolios allows us to provide our candidates with a more flexible approach to learning and assessment. Nigel has worked extremely hard to get the centre where it is today, and I feel very proud that we’ve won the award.”
Nigel agrees:
“We’re ecstatic! We had no expectation of winning, so it’s been a real boost for us all. Basically, the centre is a lovely place to be and we’re all really proud of it. Perhaps that’s what came across to the judges?
“We may offer state of the art facilities, but I think we’re quite old-fashioned in terms of our approach. New entrants to the industry benefit from learning traditional hand skills and the centre prides itself on developing candidates understanding of the subject rather than just skills and knowledge. That drives us to provide them with more than the essentials. For example, we’ve set up a unique open PEN demonstration on the Electric Vehicle Charging rig and large screen monitors displaying mimic diagrams showing the hybrid inverter power flows and application software. It’s important that learners appreciate the weight of responsibility they are taking on, the risks as well as the joy of learning new skills.”
Worthy winners – congratulations!
Our judging panel, comprising industry experts Stewart Clements from HHIC, Brett Forster of NAPIT, Hattie Hassan MBE of Stopcocks and Charlotte Lee, CEO of the HPA, were impressed with the facilities at Logic4training as well as the evident commitment from the training team.
If you’d like to find out more about the centre and the work that Phil, Nigel and the team do, please click here.
Logic4training’s Sittingbourne site won Electrical Centre of the Year at our recent Awards event at the Hilton Leicester.
The centre, which was taken over by Logic4training in May 2019 has been extensively redeveloped to make it the up-to-date training facility it is today. Keen to find out why the judges picked it as the winning electrical entry, we spoke to Phil Hickey, Centre Manager and Nigel Harman, Head of Electrical:
Phil, who had been Lead IQA at Access Training in Welwyn Garden City, before joining Logic4training in 2019, oversaw the new build and has worked closely with Nigel over the last five years.
“We were lucky with the site, there’s lots of space. When we re-modelled the centre, we took fifteen and a half tonnes of plaster board out of the original building, which gives you a sense of the scale of the redevelopment work we undertook!
“Because we’ve plenty of room, we’ve been able to purpose build electrical facilities designed by experienced training professionals, so they’re absolutely fit for purpose and provide a safe and comfortable environment - highly conducive to learning. Another advantage has been having the room to physically separate the training and assessment areas, in line with best practice and Awarding Organisation requirements.
“We focus on renewables and have set up rigs to help our candidates practice their theory in bespoke demonstration areas. It’s been interesting to see electrical training develop over the last few years. Our two newest rigs are for EV charging and battery storage – two areas that have become increasingly popular with learners. The facilities we have for Solar PV and heat pumps are equally good and Nigel, who built the rigs is keen to demonstrate how important renewables will be in the future careers of electrical engineers.
We’ve been forward looking, not only with regards to the qualifications we offer, but also the way we do things here. There’s a strong focus on IT which is used extensively throughout the centre for both training and administration. We offer our learners online resources such as Club Logic and Google classroom and most exams and assessments are IT based. The extensive use of electronic portfolios allows us to provide our candidates with a more flexible approach to learning and assessment. Nigel has worked extremely hard to get the centre where it is today, and I feel very proud that we’ve won the award.”
Nigel agrees:
“We’re ecstatic! We had no expectation of winning, so it’s been a real boost for us all. Basically, the centre is a lovely place to be and we’re all really proud of it. Perhaps that’s what came across to the judges?
“We may offer state of the art facilities, but I think we’re quite old-fashioned in terms of our approach. New entrants to the industry benefit from learning traditional hand skills and the centre prides itself on developing candidates understanding of the subject rather than just skills and knowledge. That drives us to provide them with more than the essentials. For example, we’ve set up a unique open PEN demonstration on the Electric Vehicle Charging rig and large screen monitors displaying mimic diagrams showing the hybrid inverter power flows and application software. It’s important that learners appreciate the weight of responsibility they are taking on, the risks as well as the joy of learning new skills.”
Worthy winners – congratulations!
Our judging panel, comprising industry experts Stewart Clements from HHIC, Brett Forster of NAPIT, Hattie Hassan MBE of Stopcocks and Charlotte Lee, CEO of the HPA, were impressed with the facilities at Logic4training as well as the evident commitment from the training team.
If you’d like to find out more about the centre and the work that Phil, Nigel and the team do, please click here.