College facility will train future generation of Railway workers

Major investment in motor vehicle training is planned for the Ystrad Mynach site of Coleg y Cymoedd.

A total of £2.1m will be ploughed into a new motor vehicle maintenance training facility, which will replace the college’s existing Rhymney campus – its current home – from September 2015.

This new centre is being developed to meet growing demands for delivering industry-leading motor vehicle repair and maintenance workshops, and diagnostic and testing facilities.

Campus facilities in Rhymney, which are leased are said to be ageing and do not meet the necessary requirements for the Coleg y Cymoedd’s investment in its motor vehicle training department.

However all learners there will have completed their studies by September 2015. Coleg y Cymoedd has also guaranteed that necessary provisions will be made for any existing students who decide to progress to further levels of motor vehicle training from then on.

Anthony Clarke, 16, from Caerphilly, is currently studying towards his Level 1 Diploma in Motor Vehicle Light Maintenance and Repair at the Rhymney campus. He said: “At the moment I travel on the train for 45 minutes to study at the Rhymney campus.

It will be great to have the new facility at the Ystrad Mynach campus as I plan to continue on to my Level 2 Motorsport and then possibly a Level 3 Motor Vehicle in the future. The majority of my course mates also live in Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach, so we’ll all benefit.

The few that live in the Rhymney area already travel the same distance it will take to get to Ystrad Mynach, so that’s no problem” added Anthony.

Lucy O’Connell, 18, from Rhymney chose to study at Coleg y Cymoedd as she hopes to progress into a motorsport-related career. She said: The commuting doesn’t matter to me as it will be easy to catch the train, plus I’m hoping to pass my driving test soon.

It will be worth it to have new facilities and be on a bigger campus with more of a culture and be able to mix with more people on other coursers.”

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