Employment Minister Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew MP have visited Airedale's new research and manufacturing plant in Leeds.
The pair visited Airedale's £250,000 air conditioning and refrigeration training school where they met Airedale young apprentices Jamie Acs, Adam Gillies and Leeds City College Apprentice of the Year, Danny Carter.
Mr Grayling commented on the facility as showcasing the 'high end, niche technologies' being developed at Airedale and discussed with the young apprentices what it was like to be a modern day apprentice. Managing director Clive Parkman and Airedale service and training manager Adrian Trevelyan showed Minister Grayling around the training school, demonstrating how the facility combines on the job training and theoretical learning with its air conditioning, electrical and brazing workshops.
The school allows Airedale to provide an extensive programme of training for apprentices and continues to update the skills of its 380 UK based employees. The school also provides a vast choice of air conditioning and refrigeration courses to third parties including companies such as BT.
Following the tour of the training school, Minister Grayling and MP Andrew were invited into the test centre to witness the rigorous testing of a high efficiency air cooled TurboChill chiller and experienced the extreme silence within the semi-anechoic noise test chamber.