Skills Minister visits young Sheffield apprentices
Minister for Skills Matthew Hancock visited engineers of the future at the University of Sheffield AMRC today (3 October 2012), to find out more about plans for the pioneering AMRC Training Centre.
The Minister met the AMRC's Training Director Alison Bettac to learn all about how the new centre will equip the region's young people with valuable skills and knowledge for future jobs in the manufacturing sector. The Minister was hosted by AMRC Projects Director John Baragwanath OBE and also met some of the AMRC's own young apprentices.
The AMRC Training Centre, which will provide hundreds of paid apprenticeships to students as young as 16, was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Friday 14 September 2012.
Due to be completed in Autumn 2013, the AMRC Training Centre aims to provide the next generation of world leading engineers and technicians. It is part funded by a grant from the Regional Growth Fund and by the University of Sheffield. AMRC is currently seeking additional funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
The Minister's visit coincides with a critical day for the AMRC's involvement in the Bloodhound SSC project. The Bloodhound team, who aim to set a new land speed record and inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers, will be carrying out a first public test of their rocket engine in Cornwall on Wednesday. The AMRC's structural testing specialists calibrated the thrust ring which holds the rocket in place, and are at the testing site with the AMRC's Mantra lorry, a travelling showcase for high-value manufacturing. AMRC apprentices and young technicians have also been involved with manufacturing key parts for the supersonic car.
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: "I'm hugely looking forward to being able to see young people working at the forefront of manufacturing excellence, developing technologies and techniques that will help the industry to thrive.
"Manufacturing drives growth and strengthens our global competitiveness. It is training centres like the AMRC that are playing a pivotal role in ensuring the workforce is the best it can be."
John Baragwanath OBE, AMRC Projects Director, said: "The AMRC works with UK manufacturers to give them the technological edge they need to compete, and our new Training Centre will provide them with the same advantage in skills. We'll also give young people the opportunity to forge a career in some of the world's most innovative industries, such as aerospace, automotive and low-carbon power."
Additional information
If you would like to attend, please contact Tim Chapman, AMRC Communications Manager, on 07872 419671 or email t.m.chapman@sheffield.ac.uk
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK´s leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen´s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom´s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University´s research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
Contact
For further information please contact:
Amy Stone
Media Relations Officer
The University of Sheffield
0114 222 1046
a.f.stone@sheffield.ac.uk