1967
British Steel
Working at British Steel, Barry Thomas had been a witness to several accidents and fatalities happening on site. That made him realise the importance of appropriate training in the electrical industry and pushed him to work on the formation of Associated Power Services Ltd, which would later evolve into The Faraday Centre.
Following the formation of the Associated Power Services Ltd in November 1988, a facility was sourced at the Tees Offshore base which would house the new organization.
In its early days, APS provided a full range of electrical power services including installation, commissioning, maintenance and on-site electrical training.
1991/1994
The Development of Associated Power Services and The Faraday Centre
First Gear
September 1991 saw the closure of the original British Steel Training Centre and subsequently assets including equipment were sold to APS and relocated to the Tees Offshore Base facility. At this time, APS was split into 2 companies and in 1994 The Faraday Centre Ltd was created with Barry as sole director. However, The Faraday Centre remained an integral part of APS.
The equipment purchased from the liquidized British Steel Training Centre cost just £6000 and Barry later went on to sell just one of the transformers for the same value immediately making his expenditure back.
First Customers
Within 6 weeks of purchasing the equipment, Barry and the small APS team had the facility up and running and ready for commencement of its first course.
At that time, the centre had only one customer SCOTA (Scottish Offshore Training Association). The SCOTA contract was shortly followed by British Steel who signed over all their training needs to The Faraday Centre/APS.
First Turnover
In the beginning, the organization had only one member of staff, ex steelworker Reg Busby working 3 days a week as a lecturer alongside Peter Coates who was in charge of installing all equipment. Despite this, the centre still managed to turn over £180k in its first year and showed a huge promise for growth and expansion.
From Local to Worldwide
In November 1997, the lease was taken on the Stephenson Court facility which almost doubled the 4k square feet of operating space at the prior Tees Offshore Base headquarters. Barry remembered standing in the doorway of the empty Stephenson Court building thinking he would never be able to fill the centre to capacity.
The first year at Stephenson Court surpassed expectations massively, with over 800 candidates trained and the client list was expanding rapidly. Before Barry knew it, the centre was filled to capacity week in week out and his worries diminished.
With Faraday’s second to none reputation word began to spread across the country and even overseas. Over the following years courses were held in countries such as Jamaica, Australia, Dubai, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Oman and many more.
Strong working relationships were built with global companies such as Shell, BP, Diageo (Guinness), Disney, Petrofac and Woodgroup further cementing the company’s place as the leading electrical safety training provider worldwide.
2005
Further Expansions
In 2005, John Prescott announced that all domestic electricians would require PART P training before they could legally work in households in the UK. This change in legislation would therefore mean that thousands of electricians across the country would require training with immediate effect.
As Stephenson Court facility was already running at full capacity weekly, Barry decided another facility was required to house the equipment needed to hold the PART P training courses. In 2006 the Davy Road facility was opened and ready for business.
By 2007 both centres were regularly running at full capacity making use of every morsel of space available. The combined use of both centres carried on successfully for many years.
In the meantime, following a high demand for electrical training from its Eastern clients, The Faraday Centre established a purpose-built facility in Cyprus which operated between from 2006 to 2020.
2017
New Premise
In line with the growth of its course offering and recent recruitment phase, The Faraday Centre has relocated to a state-of-the-art facility at the Wilton Centre, Redcar and doubled its previous office and training space with the new 4000m² headquarters. Barry Thomas, managing director at The Faraday Centre, said during the opening of the new premises: “I established the company in 1991 at which time it only had two customers. These new premises are a sign of our continued growth as we now train over 2,500 people annually, and to date have trained over 20,000 delegates onsite and thousands more at their own premises.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt and deliver courses which meet the changing needs of our industry and our customers, and our success in doing so is proven in our growth. I am both thrilled and humbled to be able to celebrate our expansion, and the launch of the new premises with our clients, employees and those who have been influential throughout my electrical engineering career.
“This is a great time for The Faraday Centre and I am confident that the dedication of our employees, high-calibre of our courses and the expertise we provide delegates will see us continue to grow in the years to come.”
2021
Sad News
On 23rd April 2021, The Faraday Centre received sad news of its founder, Barry Thomas, passing away. Barry’s daughter, Dr Hannah Thomas, who had worked at the centre for many years at that point, became the new managing director with full support from the staff.
2023
Rebrand
Although the Faraday’s mission to create a safer electrical industry has remained the same throughout the years, following Barry’s passing and the company surviving through the global pandemic, Hannah felt a change was needed to make sure that the centre was keeping up with the modern times and the constantly evolving industry.
In 2023 the centre has undergone a full rebrand, moving away from the outdated look which served it well for almost 30 years, to establishing a new brand identity that’s more in-line with current times and the company’s values. This big milestone represented the company’s shift from leaning on the past to looking forward into the future.
2024
Celebrating 30 years
It is only with the help and support of our customers that The Faraday Centre has continued to expand over the last 30 years. From starting with only 2 customers to having trained over 40 thousand engineers worldwide the company has gone from strength to strength.
We are immensely grateful to be in our current position and plan to continue our mission of creating a safer electrical industry for many more years to come.
