Mazda Motors UK has teamed up with engineering support company Babcock International to deliver its technical training.

A first group of technicians completed their training at a new purpose-developed Technical Training Academy in Milton Keynes.

David Wilson-Green, Mazda UK aftersales director, said the Japanese business chose Babcock after a tender process.

He said: “We were attracted to Babcock because they are the UK’s largest training provider with strong credentials.

“With Mazda’s sixth generation cars arriving with Skyactiv technology on the Mazda CX-5 in the spring we needed to find the best provider for the future.”

The new training programme will allow apprentices to learn alongside those seeking master technician status.

Dealer staff will not have to be completely retrained for the Skyactiv technology. Wilson-Green explained: “No new electrical engineering qualifications are required in addition to the usual specialist technical expertise.”

Every Mazda dealership needs to have at least one master technician as part of the brands standards.

The new Mazda Technical Training Academy provides both classroom and technical working areas as well as computer training and serves not only Mazda’s UK dealer network but also the network in Ireland.

The new Academy has four trainers and the capacity to take up to 10 people on each course. Each technician is trained according to a curriculum which consists of three different levels: Technician, Senior and Master Technician.