A DEDICATED training centre for the building engineering services industry is now up and running at Malton.

The building, which will help to address the skills shortage in plumbers and electricians throughout the whole of North Yorkshire, was formally opened yesterday on the York Road industrial estate by Ivan Lewis, the Minister for Skills and Vocational Education.

By the time it accommodates three years of intake, aged between 16 and 24, the building will help to turn out 50 plumbers and 50 electricians a year, all with the achievment of Advanced Modern App-renticeship (AMA).

This is the first dedicated training centre of its kind opened by JTL, the industry's training provider which gets its funding from the Learning And Skills Council. It is being made available to employers and apprentices across the region.

JTL provides training in electrotechnical, plumbing and mec-hanical engineering services, arranging the training for and funding of apprentices by liaising with the Learning And Skills Council as well as further education colleges and employers.

Inside the training building is modern high-tech machinery in cubicles, each representing what the youngsters are likely to find in real working environments - an investment totalling more than £300,000.

Dave Rogers, chief executive of Orpington-based JTL, said his company had now registered 8,000 apprentices across England and Wales, but this was the first dedicated training centre it had commissioned. "Its establishment is not only a significant move for us as a company, but also for the development of the building engineering industry in Yorkshire," he said.

"We have a responsibility to our employers, and Malton's first streams of apprentices to ensure the highest quality training possible and look forward to working with them."

David Harbourne, executive director of the Learning and Skills Council North Yorkshire, said: "I welcome the opening of this new training centre.

"JTL trains people across the whole country in a range of practical skills, which are in great demand.

"We are sure they will be a valuable addition to a network of very successful training providers already operating in and around North Yorkshire."

Updated: 10:05 Friday, February 20, 2004