L-R: Jonathan Harrison (ACT), Suzanne Read (ACA), Tom Ainscough (ZyroFisher), Rob Haycock (ZyroFisher), Jack Swain (ACA), Nancy Buckley (ACA)

New Cytech training facility to open at ZyroFisher’s Darlington HQ

Cytech training provider Activate Cycle Academy (ACA) is opening a new cycle mechanic training workshop in Darlington, County Durham.

Based within ZyroFisher’s head office, the new workshop is the latest addition to the expanding number of Cytech training workshops.

Managed by the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), Cytech’s mission is to raise the standard of professional cycle technicians across the globe. The training facilities now operate in four continents and new workshops are expected to double by the end of 2022.

“We’ve been looking at opening a training centre in the northeast area for a while now, and when the opportunity arose to utilise some space within ZyroFisher we just couldn’t say no,” said Matt Grant, sales and marketing manager at ACA.

“Cytech remains the leading training and accreditation scheme for technicians within the cycle industry with demand growing significantly year on year, so the increase in training capacity that the new workshop will bring will help us better serve the industy.”

Rob Haycock, CEO at ZyroFisher, added: “The new facility at our Darlington HQ is ACA’s fifth workshop in England, and the second they have opened in the past 12 months. We are excited to be able to provide this purpose-built workshop which offers the very latest state-of-the-art cycle maintenance training facility.

“All trainees can expect to be working with, training on and using the very latest tools from Unior and equipment from some of the world’s finest bicycle manufacturers and brands when they attend a Cytech course.”

Suzanne Read, operations manager at ACA, said: “We have experienced a three-fold increase in the number of apprenticeship enrolments in the past 12 months, so this new workshop will better serve and cater for the training needs for all our apprentices and local bike shops in the north-east area. A more northern based workshop is something we’ve been looking to bring online for a number of years, I am glad that it is finally coming to fruition!”

The new Darlington workshop is due to open for practical training on the 21st February. The Cytech journey begins with Theory one online; to celebrate the new location and until the end of February, Cytech is offering £30 off the UK Theory one online course which can be completed online and in your own time.

Read more: Highway Code changes a ‘hugely important step’ towards making roads safer for everyone, says Cycling UK

The Theory one distance learning course precedes the Technical one practical course and the two together combine to give the full Cytech Technical one qualification. For more information head over to the Theory one website and to access the discount, use the promo code DARLINGTON at the payment review page. The offer expires 28th February.

For the practical Cytech courses that follow Theory one, the dates for the new Darlington workshop have been released. For more details, please contact the ACA sales team on 01865 550324, email cycles@activatelearning.ac.uk or, check out the website.

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