£3 million Shropshire skills centre plans are unveiled
Plans for a new new multi-million pound, state-of-the-art training hub in Shropshire have been unveiled for the first time.
More than 100 local businesses and stakeholders attended the launch of the £3m Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology (MCMT) l in Bridgnorth yesterday, which aims to support 2,020 learners by 2020.
The MCMT, which is led by a consortium of Classic Motor Cars, Grainger & Worrall, Salop Design & Engineering and training provider In-Comm, will offer the chance for people to learn from engineering experts on the latest technology – all geared towards giving them opportunities to apply their new found skills on real life situations.
Supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, work will start on fitting out the 36,000 sq ft building on the Stanmore Industrial Estate in January, with plans in place to create dedicated fabrication, foundry, lathe, metrology, milling, robotics and vehicle
trimming sections, as well as a specialist CNC Zone and spray booth.
There will also be an auditorium lecture theatre, classrooms, five vehicle ramps and a rolling road test facility.
Matthew Snelson, director of Grainger & Worrall and managing director of the centre, said: "This is one of the most exciting developments seen in manufacturing training provision in the area for many years and yesterday gave us the perfect opportunity to communicate our vision to employers, colleges, universities and future learners.
"We believe the MCMT is critical to closing the skills gap for Shropshire businesses, but we are under no illusions that we will need the rest of local industry, education and training to play their part.
"This could be through informing how the provision develops, using the services and even offering time and expertise to help with delivering some of the learning.
"There are also plenty of opportunities for businesses to sponsor different learning zones or donate equipment and machinery our learners can train on."
The Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology has received £1.9m of funding from the Marches LEP to bring the concept into reality, with £1.1m of private funding already pledged by the consortium.
Additional sponsorship and business engagement will look to bring the budget to over £4m.
The skills centre will offer learners the chance to work with 400 companies on developing existing manufacturing professionals up to Level 7 qualifications, covering business improvement techniques, team leadership, vehicle body repair and paint, vehicle body building, technical development, quality and continuous improvement.
Gareth Jones, Managing Director of In-Comm, added his support: "We will be looking to
open our doors for office based courses from April 1and full engineering courses from August 2017. "There is a lot of work ahead to equip the centre and build a pipeline of learners who want to be part of something new and exciting."
Graham Wynn OBE, chairman of the Marches LEP, said: "Plugging the skills gaps that currently exist will mean that businesses here will be able to grow and thrive.
"That means more investment and more jobs, which can only have a positive impact on the economic prosperity of our county.
"The MCMT is one of three Advanced Manufacturing Hubs which are being funded by the Local Growth Fund via the Marches LEP and we're delighted to see this milestone reached."
