New training academy at East Midlands Airport underpins commitment to excellence

TrainingAcademyOpening

The brand new facility, located next to the airport’s main administrative HQ, was opened last week and includes four bright spacious training rooms with capacity to deliver to 68 learners at a time, along with a remote training room for delivering online learning and a new kitchen and rest area for colleagues. It’s part of an ongoing £120m programme of investment at the airport.

The new building provides the perfect space to meet all the airport’s training needs, which includes Security, Customer Services, Landside and Airfield Operations, as well as partner organisations operating on the site which undertake training with the airport.

A dedicated in-house training team carries out refresher training sessions for existing staff, as well as training for new recruits. Delivering effortless travel for customers is at the heart of everything the airport does and runs through the training modules, including those for Customer Ambassadors and members of the award-winning Assisted Travel team.

Another key area of focus is safety, with the airport’s security training receiving the top ranking of ‘outstanding’ from the Civil Aviation Authority at its last inspection two years ago. Airport security staff are required to be trained in several disciplines including body searches, identifying ‘threatening’ objects, patrols, x-ray and baggage screening. Security officers at East Midlands Airport are now trained in using the next-generation scanning equipment that is in operation in the recently expanded and transformed security hall, allowing all passengers to now leave electronics and liquids in cabin bags.

East Midlands Airport’s Director of Customer Services and Planning, Mike Grimes, said: “It’s fantastic that all our colleagues and new recruits can now receive training in a brand new facility.

“This demonstrates our commitment to making sure that people working in vital parts of our operation are fully equipped to carry out their duties safely and effectively. Ultimately this results in the good customer experience and effortless travel that people who choose East Midlands Airport have come to expect.”