Coca-Cola Enterprises Welcomes 20,000th Visitor to East Kilbride Education Centre

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wednesday 26 May 2010 will see Keith Brown MSP become the 20,000 visitor to walk through the doors of Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd's (CCE) East Kilbride Education Centre. George Heriot's school from Edinburgh will be participating in a Business Studies class on the morning itself allowing Mr Brown, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning, to experience first-hand the work that is conducted at the centre.

The education centre at CCE East Kilbride opened in 1999 and accommodates over 200 groups of students and teachers every year. Each visit is conducted by a General Teaching Council (GTC) registered teacher, employed by CCE. The modules taught at the centre are directly linked to the Scottish curriculum, and include business studies, computing, marketing, product design, enterprise and additional support needs.

Visits to the education centre are free of charge, and involve viewing CCE's state-of-the-art manufacturing site, as well as meeting employees. Students have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of the 'world of work' and make connections between what they learn in the classroom and real-life business and manufacturing practice. CCE has to two further education centres at their manufacturing sites at Wakefield and Edmonton.

Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning, said: "Educational initiatives in the business place, such as that offered at CCE's East Kilbride Education Centre, gives a genuine insight into the world of work and better prepares young people by allowing them to experience first-hand the realities of working life.

"Opportunities like this help our young people to develop skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, a key element of Curriculum for Excellence. The continued support of industry and initiatives like the Coca-Cola Enterprise Education Centre are vital to young people and contribute to society as a whole by supporting the sustained economic growth of Scotland. I would like to wish this Education Centre continued success in the future and here's to the next 20,000 visitors."

Alan Halliday, CCE regional director, adds: "We are delighted with the success of our Education Centre at CCE East Kilbride. We are proud to provide the opportunity for students to learn about the world of business and to grow the workplace skills they will need in later life."

For further information and images please contact Kate Ward or Elisabeth Middlemas at 3 Monkeys Communications on cocacolaenterprises@3-monkeys.co.uk / 020 7009 3100.

Notes to editors

About Coca-Cola Enterprises:
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is a UK based subsidiary of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company's (TCCC) products.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is responsible for manufacturing, selling and distributing over 80 different soft drinks products across Great Britain, employing around 4,500 people across seven manufacturing sites and a number of regional offices and depots.

CCE is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a particular focus on sustainable packaging, water stewardship, and energy and climate protection.

For further information please visit www.cokecce.co.uk[This will open in a new window].

About CCE Education Centres:
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd runs three Education Centres in East Kilbride, Wakefield and Edmonton offering curriculum focused visits to over 13,000 secondary school students per year.

A typical two hour visit includes a subject focused presentation, followed by a guided tour of the manufacturing site where students can see our high speed production lines in action. Students then put their learning into practice with a range of curriculum based activities.

For more information, please visit www.cokeeducation.co.uk[This will open in a new window].