EEF training facility held up as example of best practice to Government
A MANUFACTURING training facility in Birmingham has been held up as an example of best practice to the Government.
EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, hosted a visit by David Gauke, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, at its technology training centre in Aston.
The visit marked the official launch of the centre’s new Higher Education offering and allowed the Chief Secretary to see how work is progressing on its ambitious multi-million-pound expansion.
The centre opened in 2014 and has since enjoyed rapid expansion. EEF recently invested a further £5m into the facility and, as a result, work is now nearing completion on a second new site – the Technology Hub – which will increase the number of apprentices trained at the centre to over 400 a year when fully operational.
As part of this rapid growth, EEF has also expanded its range of courses to include HNCs and HNDs for the first time.
The launch of this Higher Education offering is a significant step forward in helping the manufacturing sector to battle a skills shortage and means that apprentices and students at the centre can now achieve the highest qualification in engineering, bar a full degree.
Mr Gauke was introduced to some of the first intake of Higher Education students and taken on a tour of the new hub, which has been designed and equipped to replicate modern engineering and manufacturing workplaces.
He was accompanied on his tour by centre manager, Christine Chapman, and EEF’s Director of Training, Neil Withey.
The hub offers a wide range of areas devoted to developing technological skills, including robotics, electronics and rapid prototyping.
During the tour he was presented by 21-year-old apprentice Tom Middleton, a HNC Student working for Ishida, with a 3D printed model of Gladstone, the Treasury’s famous cat, created using the centre’s new 3D printer.
Once complete, the new Technology Hub will boast 280 IT stations and £1.3m of equipment and tools.
As well as providing training, the new centre has also helped to create new jobs. Staff numbers have grown from 38 in 2014 to 102 in 2016 and the centre now trains apprentices on behalf of 93 different organisations, including Severn Trent Water, Jaguar Land Rover and Ibstock Brick.
Mr Gauke said: “EEF’s investment in its Birmingham apprentices will equip workers with the cutting-edge skills needed to keep the UK’s manufacturing sector world-class.”
