KITCHEN company Magnet has invested £150,000 in creating its first UK training academy at its North-East base.

The firm has established the facility at its factory and warehousing base in Darlington as part of an ongoing £6m upgrade at the plant.

The centre will be open not only to staff, but will also offer training to workers from the 190 Magnet trade and retail stores across the UK.

The Northern Echo revealed last month how, as well as investing money in the site, Magnet was planning to create at least 50 jobs in the North-East over the next year to add to its 700-strong workforce.

The company is also planning to invest a further £15m in the business by opening 50 more stores nationwide in the coming months, adding more employees to its 2,000-strong UK workforce.

The training academy, which has taken four months to create at the Allington Way site, includes three training rooms and an IT suite, giving employees from across the business the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge. The centre, which can accommodate up to 200 people, opens on Tuesday.

Magnet said the training facility would play a key role in its attempts to become the UK's main kitchen supplier and manufacturer.

Preben Bager, managing director of Magnet, said: "To achieve this vision, the organisation needs colleagues of the highest calibre, and Magnet is committed to developing its workforce to their full potential.

"At the Magnet group conference last year, colleagues came up with creative ideas of how to advance the company in terms of training, to make Magnet even more successful amidst increased competition, and a training centre was suggested.

"Work has been taking place to build the academy for the last four months and has resulted in Magnet now having a superb facility at the Darlington site."