Banbury and Bicester College opens a new bicycle maintenance training facility

Based at The Colin Sanders Innovation Centre on Mewburn Road, this is the latest of several new training workshops that Activate Cycles Academy has opened in the past 18 months, to help meet the rising demand in cycle mechanic training across the professional and adult leisure markets.

This workshop will run a variety of courses and programmes designed to help adults (aged 19 or over) from the local community gain new skills, retrain, find work and improve their general mental wellbeing. Funding for the majority of courses will be readily available via the Adult Education Budget (AEB) and PCDL funded programmes which means a lot of the courses will be free of charge to adult learners.

The AEB courses will combine professional qualifications, such as the Cycle Mechanics Level 1 City and Guilds Award, with employability training for adults currently unemployed to help them gain employment within the cycle industry.

These courses are available for free for individuals who meet the criteria for PCDL funding. Please contact us to find out more via 0800 612 6008.

For anyone who does not meet these criteria, there will be a course cost.

Nancy Buckley, Director of Career Pathways at Activate Learning said: “The Activate Cycles Academy is really pleased to be expanding its offering to the wider community offering free introductory courses and funded qualifications for those new to the industry or looking to retrain as a cycle mechanic.

“The cycles industry is booming and there is huge demand from leisure cyclists wishing to maintain their bikes and from the cycle trade requiring apprentices and skilled staff in their workshops and warehouses.

“These courses will provide that first introductory step into the trade or give a cycling enthusiast the skills to maintain their bike. It’s our long-term ambition to offer courses from Banbury as well as popping up in locations across Oxfordshire to provide a wide geographic service.”

Discover our Basic Bike Maintenance, Cycle Mechanics Level 1 City and Guilds and Cycle Mechanics Level 1 City and Guilds with Employability Training courses or contact us via 0800 612 6008.