Cheltenham-based Spirax Sarco, a leading provider of steam solutions, is celebrating 30 years of course accreditation from the City & Guilds Group.

Beginning in 1989, the relationship followed a decision by the Dairy Trade Federation and City & Guilds to introduce a skills-testing scheme for the validation of maintenance engineers in the dairy industry.

This led to the introduction of a nationally recognised certificate.

Sally O’Connell, Spirax training centre manager said (www.spiraxsarcoengineering.com): “At that time, Spirax Sarco was the only authorised provider of the Steam Plant Maintenance training for the scheme.

"In the 30 years since, we have continued to develop the course and gain accreditation for both our Steam Plant Maintenance and our Steam Boiler Plant Fundamentals (Shell Boiler) courses.

"By working with City & Guilds, we have been able to create tailored courses that meet our customers’ needs; and because City & Guilds is a strong quality brand and recognised by our customers as such, it is fantastic for Spirax Sarco to be so closely aligned with them.”

Ms O’Connell added: “The underpinning quality assurance and credibility within the industry is incredibly important to us and our customers.

"Having our courses accredited by City & Guilds therefore provides us with a unique selling point for our training offering and ensures that our delivery remains consistently high.”

Kirstie Donnelly, City & Guilds Group managing director said: “City & Guilds is a world leader in skills development with 140 years of unrivalled experience.

“Our purpose is to enable people, organisations and economies to develop their skills for growth.

"We are proud to have maintained a relationship with Spirax Sarco for three decades, accrediting their skills training and highlighting the quality process and credibility that learners are looking for.”