New Skills Opportunities as SERC becomes SIAS Approved Centre

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has become the first SIAS Approved Centre in Northern Ireland, and will be delivering new, regulated qualifications in Healthcare Estates and Facilities Engineering. SIAS is the leading award organisation for STEM industries.  

This significant milestone is a result of a collaboration between SERC, SIAS, and Belfast Health and Social Care NHS Trust to develop innovative and industry-relevant training courses and qualifications. 

As part of this partnership, we are delighted to be launching the first qualification – the SIAS Level 2 Certificate in the Fundamentals of Healthcare Estates. The qualification addresses crucial skills gaps in the healthcare sector and ensures estates professionals are equipped with the knowledge and competencies required for modern operations. 

Stephen McGreevy, SERC Lead Business Skills Manager, comments, 

“We are delighted to become a SIAS Approved Centre, and we are looking forward to bringing candidates on board and starting the course delivery in our dedicated, specialist campus facilities. 

“Working with SIAS, an innovative, dynamic awarding organisation has been an exciting process, and we are proud to have come to the end of that journey as the first centre in Northern Ireland to achieve SIAS approved status.  

“We have secured interest from major employers who appreciate our commitment to meeting industry needs, and I know that our continuing collaboration with SIAS will produce further opportunities to deliver professional, skilled personnel to meet industry needs.” 

Steve Smith, Managing Director of SIAS, adds, 

“I am delighted to welcome SERC as our first SIAS Approved Centre in Northern Ireland. This collaboration marks a crucial step in our unwavering commitment to supporting the Northern Ireland technical and vocational skills agenda. The launch of the SIAS Level 2 Certificate in the Fundamentals of Healthcare Estates is just the beginning, and we look forward to working with SERC across a range of wider qualification and curriculum areas to support key Process, STEM, & Health industries in Northern Ireland – inclusive of future technologies to support the Green Energy transition. 

“SERC is a fantastic college, whose values and ethos very much align with our own.  Their high-quality provision, and the way they positively support employers and learners to achieve skills and workforce development goals, is exciting, and we look forward to continuing a productive and impactful partnership.”  

The launch of this qualification is a major step forward in the drive to professionalise and modernise healthcare estates and facilities engineering training. Following the launch of the Level 2 course in January 2025, a Level 3 Diploma and Extended Diploma will launch in September 2025. 

For more information about this qualification and other skills development opportunities for business, please contact Stephen McGreevy, Lead Business Skills Manager; [email protected]  or Kelly Donnelly [email protected]