Mitie has officially opened a new Cleaning Training Centre of Excellence at Manchester Airport in Terminal 2, reinforcing its long‑term commitment to developing its people, embedding digital ways of working and delivering consistently high standards of service as part of its seven‑year partnership with Manchester Airports Group (MAG).
Created as a dedicated space for learning, development and practical demonstrations, the centre will play a key role in how colleagues are trained, supported and equipped to succeed in their roles at one of the UK’s busiest airports, which welcomes more than 30 million passengers annually.
The centre provides a space for training in both Mitie’s autonomous cleaning robots, known as “cobots”, and its digital task management system, Merlin. Colleagues will learn to programme and map the cobots, building digital capability and allowing robot‑supported cleaning to be used across the airport. Merlin is embedded into onboarding training, helping new colleagues build confidence using digital tools in a controlled environment before moving into the airport, improving confidence in the role.
This builds on Mitie’s established expertise in delivering cleaning training centres at major transport hubs, including Heathrow Airport, where in its first three months upskilled more than 380 cleaning colleagues, onboarded over 130 new starters.
Mark Allen, Account Director, Service Delivery Cleaning, Mitie, said:
“This new Training Centre of Excellence is about investing in our people and giving them the right tools, confidence and support to succeed. By combining high-quality, practical training with digital technology like our cleaning robots, we’re building a workforce that is confident, capable and ready to meet the evolving needs of Manchester Airport and the millions of passengers who travel through it every year.”
Paul Lupton, Head of Facilities Management at Manchester Airport, said:
"We're proud be the North's gateway to the world and first impressions are important – that's why we've invested £1.3bn in our state-of-the-art Terminal 2 and are also carrying out work to improve and modernise Terminal 3, but on top of that, it's also important our terminals are looking their best.
"That's where our partnership with Mitie is so vital, and we appreciate their commitment to keeping at the cutting edge, giving their staff access to the best training available and refining their working practices to ensure we're able to collectively provide a world-beating passenger experience."
Notes to editors
About Mitie: The Future of High Performing Places
Founded in 1987, Mitie employs 84,000 colleagues and is the leading technology-led Facilities Management, Transformation and Compliance company in the UK. We are a trusted partner to around 3,000 customers across the public and private sectors, working with them to transform their built estates, and the lived experience for their colleagues and customers, as well as providing data-driven insights to inform better decision-making.
In each of our core services of engineering (hard services) and security and hygiene (soft services) we hold market leadership positions. We also deliver transformational projects in the areas of power and grid connections, building fit outs & modernisation, decarbonisation, fire safety & security and telecoms infrastructure, alongside compliance capabilities in fire safety & security and environmental services. Our sector expertise includes central government, critical national infrastructure, defence, financial services, healthcare & life sciences, local government & education, retail & logistics, manufacturing & media and transport & aviation.
We hold industry-leading ESG credentials, including a place on the CDP Climate change A List, and we have received multiple awards including Best Low Carbon Solution and Net Zero Carbon Strategy of the year. We have validated science-based targets that support our ambitions to reach Net Zero. We have been recognised as a UK Top Employer for the seventh consecutive year and Most Admired Company in the Support Services sector. We are also ranked 16th in the Top 100 Apprenticeship employers and ninth in the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers list. Find out more at www.mitie.com