ABDO prepares for National Resource Centre opening

The Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) will open its new National Resource Centre in Birmingham in time for its summer examinations.

Designed to act as an education and examinations hub for students and ABDO members, the facility will support the profession and generate income.

Director of professional examinations at ABDO and dispensing optician, Alicia Thompson, said that the ABDO National Resource Centre will be “the pinnacle of training and assessment.” 

“The Education Strategic Review and the changing landscape of our profession will naturally expand our scope of practice and we need the facilities to ensure our members are both competent and confident to embrace change and explore the exciting potential this brings,” she said. 

The centre will include technology and equipment for dispensing, refraction, contact lenses, screening minor eye conditions services and glazing. 

It will also have rooms divided by partition walls for dispensing practical exams, which can be opened up for conferences, seminars and CET courses. 

Speaking about the facility, CEO and general secretary of ABDO, Antony Garrett, said: “The new ABDO National Resource Centre is a major step forward in the service that this association provides for its members.

“This is the largest development project since the establishment of ABDO College in 2001, and further demonstrates the determination of the ABDO board to ensure that ABDO continues to keep the needs of members at the core of its development strategy.”

The ABDO National Resource Centre will be based at Aston Cross Business Village.