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FTA training centre opened by Minister
AFTER NINE WEEKS' operation, the Freight Transport Association's residential training centre at Wadhurst, East Sussex, was officially opened this week by Transport Minister, Norman Fowler.
A converted Edwardian country house in its own 12 acre grounds, the centre replaces the prefabricated training school which has formed part of FTA's headquarters at Tunbridge Wells since 1975. It is also the new office of training officer John Owen and the four-woman Education and Training Services administrative team.
The building was used last as a secretarial college and was bought two years ago for £107,000, and £143,000 has been spent bringing it up to FTA's standards, with a new teaching wing being the most apparent change. It incorporates a 30-seat lecture theatre, full facilities for audio-visual aids, and five separate rooms for syndicate sessions.
But the biggest breakthrough has been to get residential facilities built into the centre. No longer does FTA depend upon hotels, as there are 17 study bedrooms in the main building — including one for visiting lecturers — and another 12 in an adjacent lodge.
There are full dining facilities for students, a bar is under the control of resident warden, Vernon Holt, and there are lounge facilities.
A games room includes pool tables and a dartboard, while there is also an outdoor tennis court and a small plunge pool. On top of that, the extensive grounds offer students ample scope for recreation between sessions.
The centre handles the full programme of training courses run by FTA, covering the Certificate of Professional Competence, transport management, engineering management, labour relations, and shipping and documentation. It is also being used for its internal training programme, starting in January.
Thirty-two one-week courses have been programmed for next year, and John Owen wants to fill in the gaps by hiring the centre to member companies who do not have their own training facilities.
Already, he has talked with several major transport operators in the public and private sectors, and has been encouraged by their response. Some have already been to Wadhurst to see the facilities, and he says he is always available to see others.
"My message to anyone interested is that they've got to be quick and make a booking," he told me. It is hardly surprising, as students on a fiveday course run by an outside company pay only £22.50 per day for full board at Wadhurst.
Rates may be reviewed next year in the light of inflation, but FTA is not aiming to make vast profits from its training services. It wants to recoup its investment in Wadhurst, and would like to develop further the range of courses offered.
The site itself has plenty of scope for expansion if the need arises, but the planning which John Owen and others put into it has guaranteed that it meets FTA's requirements for the immediate future.
Companies interested in FTA's services should write to the Freight Transport Association at Hermes House, St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9UZ.