A NEW learning centre has been opened to help Nissan's 5,000 employees improve their skills.

The centre, at the firm's Sunderland plant, offers a variety of Learndirect business-related courses including productivity improvement, skills for life, management and ICT.

The centre, next to Nissan's human resources department, has 16 on-line learning workstations with shared printers and the expertise of staff from assa, the organisation the company helped found in 1997 to develop employees' skills.

The assa director Jeff Thompson said: "The new centre provides a wide range of services, including the full Learndirect portfolio. assa offers Nissan staff a rewarding, ongoing on-site learning experience, contributing to their personal and professional development.

"The facility has already attracted the interest of a number of Nissan's suppliers who are to start using it later this month."

The learndirect courses include Kaizen, a Japanese management technique embracing the concept of continuous improvement.

Learndirect chief executive Ann Limb said: "Nissan is the latest large employer to see the benefits of the flexible learning offered by Learndirect. Nissan requires adaptable, accessible learning to develop the skills of its workforce and I look forward to hearing of the successes of individual learners and the contribution made by Learndirect to Nissan's efficiency and productivity."

Nissan managing director John Cushnaghan said: "A key strategic aim of our partnership with assa and Learndirect is to develop the North-East's reputation as a centre of productivity excellence. More region-wide facilities such as the centre opened here today will raise skills attainment and help boost manufacturing productivity. Ultimately we would like to see not only company employees taking advantage of these services but perhaps their dependants and especially those who will make up the North-East workforce of the future."

Learndirect and assa plan to open several more learning centres by the autumn.