Latest digital equipment will help learners at Gloucestershire's newest construction skills centre

By Nicky Godding

30 March 2021

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A new partnership with Swiss company Leica Geosystems will bring the latest digital detection technology to learners at AccXel, the Construction Skills Accelerator Centre being built in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, supporting the development of modern digital construction techniques.

Leica Geosystems provides sensors, software and solutions. In partnership with AccXel, the manufacturer will contribute equipment ranging from digital locators, ground penetrating radars, construction lasers, total stations and GNSS receivers. The products will be used in AccXel’s purpose-built training area with machine control training using state-of-the-art simulators, giving learners a chance to experience and utilise the latest technology.

Neil Williams, Industry Director for Heavy Construction at Leica Geosystems Ltd, said: “The construction industry is undergoing a digital revolution and constructing in a digital way is becoming the new norm. It’s critical that

“It’s fantastic to be involved with AccXel, helping learners get to grips with the latest equipment. We’re excited to be exposing people to using new technologies and processes, teaching skills that we need now, and in the future, to realise how digital construction can make working on site safer

Nicola Bird, AccXel Founder and Managing Director, added: “I’ve had experience of Leica Geosystems’ products over the last four years and have seen some of the least digital-savvy people excel and grow alongside its introduction. Having seen this first-hand, I believe there is huge benefit in AccXel having ‘digital construction’ as a foundation to all its courses, which will support and accelerate learning and application in the workplace.

“We live in a modern world with tech in our hands every day. Offering the opportunity to get hands-on with digital construction at AccXel will attract newcomers and their learning is reflected in the industry’s mission to become more sustainable, lean and efficient.”

AccXel is co-funded by family construction firm K W Bell Group and backed by almost £2 million from the Government’s Getting Building Fund, awarded via Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, GFirst LEP. Aiming to welcome its first learners through its doors in January 2022, K W Bell Group is working in collaboration with Gloucestershire College and the University of Gloucestershire, and with support from local employers in England and Wales and industry representatives including global giant JCB.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.