Manufacturing and engineering skills in Cornwall are getting a boost with the formation of a pre-16 manufacturing academy.
The Cornwall Manufacturers Group (CMG) has partnered with the Cornwall College Group (TCCG) to address the skills gap in the sector, resulting in The CMG Academy.
A launch event was held at the Cornwall College Camborne campus with key guests from the manufacturing industry gathering to celebrate this new development.
CMG chief executive, Jon Hurrell, said: “Currently, we have got a huge skills gap – hundreds of jobs available in manufacturing and we just can’t fill them.
“So, to solve that problem in the long term we have partnered with Cornwall College to try to get the younger people involved in manufacturing as earliest as possible so that they can get inspired, get involved with manufacturing and then become a manufacturer of the future.”
The CMG Academy will help pupils from local schools to develop their skills in manufacturing and engineering, resulting in them gaining a Level 2 Diploma in Manufacturing & Engineering. To be enrolled in the academy, all the interested pupils will go through an interview process.
Luke Bazeley, head of campus at Cornwall College Camborne, said: “This partnership is vital because it identifies the skills required locally to ensure our curriculum is sequenced and that we are meeting industry needs.”
Mark Duddridge, chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “The Cornwall Manufacturers Group Academy exemplifies how collaboration between training providers and businesses can develop the workforce of tomorrow in Cornwall.
“The LEP has co-funded this project along with the CMG and we are looking forward to seeing these young people and future cohorts develop skills tailored to the thriving manufacturing sector in Cornwall.”
