Dive in and Discover Currys Fort Dunlop Training Academy

Based in the heart of the UK, Birmingham, our Fort Dunlop Training Academy trains, hosts and supports Currys' secret ingredient: our amazing colleagues.

The Academy is more than just a physical location - it represents how serious we are about our colleagues building critical skills for life.

For new sales colleague, it's a pretty epic introduction to Currys - from the start, we want our new recruits to know that we're serious about their learning, development, and career at Currys. Coined 'a moment that matters' for our new starters, they visit the academy across two-days and are taken through a unique onboarding programme. This includes insights from expert suppliers on their latest products and tech, as well as a distinctive opportunity to practice what they've learnt in a real store environment - supported by dedicated learning coaches. It's immersive, it's in-depth and it's designed with our vision at the core: to help everyone enjoy amazing technology.

Mock-store environment for the teams to put what they've learnt to the test

Manager courses also take place at the Academy, as well as critical skills training, where external guests invited to deliver sessions on essential life skills such as first aid.

This facility wouldn't be possible without the supplier partnerships we have in place. We work closely with our suppliers, and their involvement is critical to providing the best-in-class training and facilities which are the foundation of the Academy. From Apple and HP to Dyson and Google, each of the suppliers present at the academy have collaborated with our team to design the best sponsored spaces for our colleagues.

Learning Manager, Nick Wright runs the facility with the support of his team, he's super proud of the Academy and is bursting with future ideas:

"Our Fort Dunlop Academy is so unique, it's something we're really proud of at Currys. It's a constantly evolving space, and we've got so many future plans to support our growth ambitions. We're always looking for ways we can further support the business: providing best-in-class learning in a state-of-the-art environment."

Whilst the Academy's key purpose is self-evident… it does in fact do a lot more than educate people. From hosting dedicated gaming courses to our first ever Women's Network Empowerment Event - featuring guest speakers and networking opportunities - Fort Dunlop has a diverse diary!

"The Academy is a dynamic, welcoming space which is already familiar to our retail colleagues who may not get the chance to travel much to our other regional spaces and meet new Currys colleagues, and it's easy to get to, for most. It was the perfect venue for the most recent Women's Network event, where we brought over 100 colleagues from across the organisation together to hear from Lindsay, our Chief Operating Officer, and other external speakers.

Colleagues loved it too: "All the speakers were great, it was really hard to pick the best. I think what's nice is the mix of informative & social. All the work that goes into these events is noticed and much appreciated to feel part of a community that matters." shares Natalie Baxendale, Senior Channel, Events and Planning Manager and Women's Network Committee Member.

Take a look for yourself…

There's plenty of plans in the pipeline, with Board visits upcoming, as well as Away Days for our corporate teams.

"The Academy has a great mix of open plan spaces for people to connect, and smaller breakout spaces where colleagues can really get into the detail in smaller groups, and the team are absolutely fabulous. Always a smile, always happy to get stuck in and help, and consistently going above and beyond for every single Currys colleague that walks through the doors." continues Natalie.

On top of this, at Currys, we follow a hybrid working model which means many colleagues in our corporate and commercial functions can work either at home, in our head office in central London or at one of our many other working locations across the UK, including Fort Dunlop. The space has been designed with this in mind and can be adapted to a team's requirements too. Regularly teams dispersed around the country will gather at Fort Dunlop for a meeting. Not only is it perfect for a team get together, but there are also strong transport links which adds to the appeal.

Our Fort Dunlop Team pictured above, from left to right: Ruth Nimmo, Nick Wright, Joshua Gilbert, Adam Tyas, Tim Rudge, Isabel Rankin

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