News story

New Academy set to transform UK manufacturing industry

Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling launched the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, one of the first in a national network of academies that will put employers in the training driving seat.

Led by SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, together with leading industry employers, the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing is part of a network of academies the Government wants to establish for all the major sectors of the economy to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across the UK.

It 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. This was commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to look at ways of driving up the UK’s skills base by 2020.

Senior figures from some of the UK’s most successful manufacturing companies including Airbus UK, BAE Systems, Caterpillar SARL, Corus, The Ford Motor Company Ltd, GKN plc, Nissan Europe, Rolls-Royce and VT Group plc joined Mr Darling at a special event at Warwickshire College to mark the launch of the Academy.

They heard how a SEMTA/SMMT pilot “smarter working” programme with 14 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands which linked employee training to increasing productivity achieved results typical of the benefits the Academy will deliver nationwide. The SMEs anticipate a total increase in profitability of more than £1.3 million. Rolling this sort of programme out to engineering companies across the UK could achieve profitability gains in excess of £42 million and 2,400 NVQ Level 2 trained employees.

Peter Henderson, Managing Director of Lichfield-based Valve Train Components, one of the companies in the pilot scheme, said: “The programme yielded cost savings of over £130,000 sustainable year on year. We’ve made dramatic improvements in our quality, cost and delivery measures.”

The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing is a “virtual” academy, not a building. 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.
With a central hub in Birmingham and spokes in the regions and nations, the Academy starts operating in the West Midlands, East Midlands and North East this month and will extend to all English regions by Autumn 2007 and to the UK nations by April 2008.

Sir Alan Jones, Chairman of SEMTA and Chairman Emeritus of Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, said: “The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing will provide the mechanism to ensure the availability and accessibility of quality training provision for manufacturing employers. Its launch closes a connection in the UK ‘skills circuit’ that has been missing until now by bringing employers and training providers together to ensure supply matches demand. Employers know what they need and now, through the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, for the first time they have the opportunity to work directly with the supply side to influence skills training.”

Allan Cook, Chief Executive of Cobham plc, said: “Like many other UK manufacturing employers, Cobham plc makes a huge contribution to the UK economy. To continue to do so, we must focus on high value added manufacturing and improve our competitiveness, especially the skills of our employees. In supporting the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, we want to show how important this issue is to us and that we, as employers, want to be in the driving seat of the skills development agenda. Our vision for the Academy, which is shared with the other committed parties and companies, is to improve our skills base and make UK manufacturing more competitive.”

Date added: 26 January 2007