A company which provides accredited courses for seafarers and shored-based companies has signed up to two offices and a training room at a new business hub in Hampshire.
The arrival of Nuwave Training brings occupancy at Fareham Innovation Centre to 36% – just three months after the purpose-built centre was opened.
To date, 11 firms have moved in to the premises by the Daedalus airfield at Solent Enterprise Zone, Lee-on-the-Solent. There are 15 workshops and 24 offices, from 200 sq ft to 800 sq ft, for between one to 10 people, along with on-site support and hired meeting rooms.
Nuwave is part of the Guernsey-based Bachmann Group. BachmannHR is a leader in the field of offshore employment services, payroll administration, personnel management services and corporate ownership to the marine and offshore industry. Its employee client base comprises more than 22,000 seafarers and oil and gas personnel.
As part of the marine offering, Nuwave Training has been launched. Shore-based courses, covering offices and colleges, are also being rolled out, including first aid, fire courses, disability, stress and anger management courses.
Led by director and general manager Karen Harvey-Miller, Nuwave Training specialises in accredited courses for deck, engine and catering seafarers working on a variety of vessels, such as cargo ships, oil tankers, ferries, dredgers and work boats.
Employing five full-time staff and a team of trainers on board ships and shore-side, the firm relocated five miles away from Cams Hall, Fareham.
Karen said: “Increasing compliance and regulation in the marine industry is generating strong demand for our services and Fareham Innovation Centre is already proving a draw for expanding businesses like us.
“Having two offices and a workshop, where we can run training courses, is of benefit, with the flexibility to upscale on site
“With meeting rooms and kitchen facilities as well, plus parking, we are well provided for. The centre is opposite CEMAST, the Centre of Excellence in Engineering & Manufacturing Advanced Skills Training, where we are forging excellent links.”
Fareham College’s CEMAST is the main learning centre for more than 900 students in apprenticeship programmes, with partner companies such as BAE Systems, GE Aviation, Virgin Atlantic, Coopervision, Burgess Marine and Jensen Motorsport.
Stephen Brownlie, the senior centre manager, said: “Occupancy, with the arrival of Nuwave and other firms, is already at 36% within just 12 weeks of launch.
“The number of enquiries continue to flood in, including from businesses with links to the marine, automotive, aerospace and aviation sectors, including through CEMAST. We’re proud to be supporting local employment and economic growth.”
Other firms to move in include carbon bikes specialist LIOS, which was the inaugural occupier, Psion, which provides technical support for the Ministry of Defence, software developer Xehkode and Britten-Norman, a British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider.
Situated in the South’s first Enterprise Zone, following special designation by Prime Minister David Cameron, occupiers at the centre benefit from a 100% business rate discount for five years.
The £5.3m zone is set to create 3,500 jobs by 2026, becoming a regional powerhouse for marine, automotive, aerospace and aviation industries.
In a related development locally, Universal Tool and Production in Fareham, a precision engineering firm, has signed up for a purpose-built factory in the zone, reportedly creating a further 40 jobs over the next five years.
Fareham Innovation Centre is operated by Oxford Innovation, which runs 20 similar centres in the UK, on behalf of Fareham Borough Council.
