Manufacturer looks to bridge skills gap with new apprentice scheme

A metal components firm which has opened a £56m manufacturing facility in Staffordshire has appointed an apprenticeship training provider to develop the skills of its growing workforce.

Cannock-based Gestamp Tallent opened the new 543,692 sq ft factory in Four Ashes, near Wolverhampton, last year.

The firm, one of the world’s largest suppliers of metal components for the automotive sector, has appointed In-Comm as its preferred apprenticeship training provider.

Gestamp Tallent currently has 11 apprentices at In-Comm’s base in Aldridge, where they are completing mechatronics and toolmaking courses.

The move is part of the company’s desire to bridge the skills gap and address an ageing workforce, with the plan being to recruit another 30 apprentices over the next three years as it looks to maximise increases in volumes with all the major car manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

“We want to work with a partner that understands where we are going as a business and can deliver the level of quality training that will produce engineers that have an immediate impact within the business,” said Julian Nicholas, Training Controller at Gestamp Tallent.

“After a competitive tender that involved more than 10 providers we decided to appoint In-Comm to work with all of our apprentices. This involves helping us recruit them, shaping the training and then ensuring they are learning on equipment that is relevant to them.”

All of the firm’s apprentices spend 18 months full-time at the In-Comm academy, with one-day college release per week.

The intensive development programme is considered a throwback to the 1970s but the training is part of a longer-term vision to secure the future of the business.

In-Comm – recently awarded ‘Outstanding’ rating by Ofsted – has worked with Gestamp Tallent for over a decade, providing upskilling courses and consultancy on compliance and business improvement techniques.

The apprenticeship contract is one of a number of recent wins this year for the firm, which has also seen it play an instrumental role in the launch of the Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology in Bridgnorth.

This £4m training hub means it now operates three academies with further satellite workshops opening through its partnership with the Engineering Technology Group.

Gareth Jones, joint managing director of In-Comm Training, said: “There is an industry-wide desire for more robust apprenticeship programmes and our work with Gestamp Tallent reflects that.

“We sat down with the team and looked at the right courses, before jointly tailoring them to reflect some individual elements that they needed covered. It’s all about listening to the employer and ensuring we deliver the skills support they need…not what we think they may want.”