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News Release from: One NorthEast
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 January 2007
UK skills academies to better skills,
productivity
A UK National Skills Academy for Manufacturing is one of the first in a national network of industry-focused academies intended to boost manufacturing skills and productivity.
North East manufacturers will be among the first in the country to reap the benefits of a new GBP 13m National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, launched in late January by the UK Government's Trade and Industry secretary Alistair Darling The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing is one of the first in a national network of industry-focused academies that will put employers in the training driving seat, to boost the skills and productivity of manufacturing companies in the North East and UK as a whole
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 15 May 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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With a central hub in Birmingham and spokes in the regions, the North East is one of the first areas in the country - together with West Midlands and East Midlands - to launch its regional arm of the academy which goes live today (January 25, 2007).
The academy will extend into all English regions by autumn 2007 and across the UK by April 2008.
Led by SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, together with leading industry employers, the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing will focus initially on training initiatives to develop and improve the skills of the UK's existing workforce, as part of the adult skills revolution called for by the recently-published Leitch Review of Skills.
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John Cushnaghan, chairman of the North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), is the project leader of the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing and formerly managing director at Nissan in Sunderland.
He is championing the Academy both regionally and nationally.
He said: "The new Academy will be a milestone in ramping up the provision of skills development and education for manufacturers and their employees, allowing North East and UK firms to better compete in the fiercely competitive global marketplace." Cushnaghan added: "The Academy for the first time allows employers to help lead workforce development, voicing their needs and requirements which will be met through a network of colleges and private providers who will upskill training providers to the highest industry standards." In his opinion: "It is a reflection of the hard work of One NorthEast - through its NEPA programme - and the determination of regional manufacturers to improve their productivity that North East England has been chosen to lead the way in this nationally significant programme." The Academy will feature an employer-led North East advisory group to consolidate manufacturing skills initiatives and deliver regional solutions to regional problems.
Sunderland-based Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) and Gateshead College are the region's lead organisations in the academy.
Trevor Mann, Sunderland-based Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) vice president manufacturing, said: "It's important that employers front the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing as this puts employers in the driving seat, ensuring high-quality, relevant training programmes for their sector.
My hopes and expectations of the Academy are that we develop a world-class workforce that can compete on a global stage." David Cheetham, principal, Gateshead College, said: "Gateshead College has made a strategic commitment to the manufacturing sector in the North East and is absolutely delighted to be part of a National Skills Academy being led by the UK's most successful manufacturing companies." Cheetham added: "Along with my colleagues in the Further Education sector, I will really welcome the employers' clear articulation of their current and future skills and training requirements.
I am convinced that delivering this training to national standards by qualified trainers and assessors will provide the manufacturing sector with a real competitive advantage." The regional spoke for the Academy will be located at One NorthEast's Riverside House offices.
It has been set up to deliver quality-assured courses, qualifications and providers to meet the training and development needs of employers in the manufacturing sector.
The Academy will build on the best of existing provision.
Where gaps are identified, it will respond quickly to develop products and services to fill them.
Current One NorthEast employees Eddie Leng and Scott Duncan will be joining the Academy and will lead the regional project as part of the regional development agency's on-going commitment to raise skill levels and boost manufacturing productivity.
Leng, regional manager of the academy's North East branch, said: "This signals a major breakthrough in ensuring manufacturing employers get the training they need to drive up their skills base and make their businesses more productive and competitive.
Its launch closes a connection in the UK 'skills circuit' that has been missing until now by bringing employers and training providers together for the first time to ensure supply matches demand.".
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