A dedicated engineering training centre of excellence will be officially opened tomorrow (Wednesday).
The Department of Economic Development former training centre at Hill’s Meadow has been given a £1m refit by the Department of Education and Children to create the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre.
Its creation has allowed Isle of Man College to double the intake on its newly reshaped Foundation Apprenticeship in Engineering from this academic year to 36 – an increase welcomed by the industry, which relies on recruiting highly skilled staff to fulfil its growing order books.
Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce Manufacturing and Technical Industries committee chairman Chris Allen said: ‘The opening of the new training facility at Hill’s Meadow is a significant achievement and is widely celebrated among our engineering and manufacturing sector companies on the Isle of Man.
‘It marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the technical training of our youth to prepare them for the world of work within this vibrant industrial sector.’
The Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster – which boasts 22 member firms employing over 1,000 staff – has been instrumental in setting up the facility and in helping to design and deliver the course.
Previous three or four-year aerospace apprenticeships, with students going to workplaces on day release, had been completely remodelled to reflect changing times and requirements.
The new aerospace foundation apprenticeship sees students spend two years full-time at the College and a third in industry.
After a successful first year, when 18 students began the course, the new facility has enabled twice the number of recruits to learn on state of the art equipment that replicates that used by leading engineering companies.