Volvo Construction Equipment is investing in technical training facilities and programmes with the addition of a $4.3 million training centre in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
The facility is expected to open by the end of 2022 and will provide a space to develop and deliver in-person and virtual training.
Stephen Roy, president of region North America at Volvo CE, says: “This investment demonstrates Volvo CE’s commitment to our dealers and customers as well as the future of the construction industry. Equipment and technology are constantly changing and improving. These training opportunities will help prepare new technicians for successful careers and help veteran technicians keep up with the latest developments.”
Volvo CE says the training facility will be an extension to the customer centre at its North American headquarters. The customer centre sits on 40 acres with a full machine demonstration area used for dealer and customer events.
The expansion will include several new machine bays, classrooms and a virtual lab used for creating and hosting virtual training. Training will primarily be for Volvo dealer technicians.
The training centre will feature technical courses on equipment as well as productivity and uptime services, such as the Volvo Assist programmes and ActiveCare Direct managed telematics programme. There will also be training and demonstrations on electric machines, automation and connectivity. The virtual lab will allow for the use of video, augmented reality and other technologies to support training courses for dealers throughout the US and Canada.
“This investment to our customer centre puts our training staff closer to the equipment and technologies, and it emphasises to technicians the importance of customer productivity and uptime,” Roy continues. “Today’s techs must learn both the ‘nuts and bolts’ as well as the connected systems.”
The Shippensburg training centre is part of a larger strategy to invest in in-person and virtual training throughout North America. More details on those efforts will be announced later this year.
“This isn’t just an investment in the construction industry, but also in the local communities where we’re growing and in our North American presence,” Roy concludes.
