Kier Sheffield has welcomed its 6,000th candidate through the doors at its gas technical training centre in Manor Lane just months after the centre celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Kevin Pinder, 49, from Beauchief in Sheffield was named as the triumphant candidate and received £100 off his course fees to mark the occasion.

Kevin, who trained and worked as a chef following school, began his career in plumbing after finding restaurant hours to be unsociable. He went on to work with his father as an apprentice training at Shirecliffe College, before continuing to work with his father as a plumber for almost 20 years. He now runs his own business, Kevin Pinder Plumbing & Heating.

Kevin said: "The Kier training centre provides a great resource to local businesses and tradespeople who are required to renew their relevant industry recognised qualifications from a reliable and trustworthy provider. Training is delivered both in the classroom and hands on giving us a wide range of practical and theoretical knowledge. Without this training and the assessment certificate I wouldn’t be able to register with Gas Safe and therefore would not be able to work. Kier has provided training which is both easily assessable and good value for money."

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Opened in 2001 to fulfil the training needs of Kier staff from across the region, the Kier gas training centre offers state-of-the-art gas training services to employees as well as expanding to facilitate external trainees from around the city.

The technical training centre also provides learning facilities to local colleges encouraging take-up of qualifications among the next generation of tradespeople. As a large proportion of gas engineers are self-employed, the centre has also introduced evening and weekend opening hours to aid those working and studying at the same time.

Kier regional managing director for maintenance, Simon Bullen, said: "Our gas training team provides the highest quality instruction and we are delighted to have welcomed our 6,000th candidate through the doors. Our numbers equate to having trained more than one person every single day for the last ten years, providing learners with the skills and know-how to develop their careers as gas engineers. We are excited to start our eleventh year with such a momentous achievement."

Certificated by BPEC, the leading provider of training and certification for the building services engineering sector, the experienced training team offers a range of courses including domestic and commercial gas assessments, gas awareness, solar heating and gas foundation courses, all of which can be tailored to suit the personal requirements of individual candidates.

(GK)