More than 100 local businesses and stakeholders attended the £3 million Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology launch event in Bridgnorth to find out how they can play their role in helping it reverse the region’s skills and competency gaps.

The MCMT, which is led by a consortium of Classic Motor Cars, Grainger & Worrall, Salop Design & Engineering and training provider In-Comm, will provide a high-tech environment for individuals to learn from engineering experts on the latest technology – all geared towards giving them opportunities to apply their new found skills on real life manufacturing situations.

Supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, work will start on fitting out the 36,000 sq ft building on the Stanmore Industrial Estate in January, with exciting plans in place to create dedicated fabrication, foundry, lathe, metrology, milling, robotics and vehicle trimming sections, as well as a specialist CNC Zone and spray booth/mixing capabilities.

There will also be an auditorium lecture theatre, bespoke learning environments, five vehicle ramps and a rolling road test facility.

“This is one of the most exciting developments seen in manufacturing training provision in the area for many years and yesterday gave us the perfect opportunity to communicate our vision to employers, colleges, universities and future learners,” explained Matthew Snelson, Director of Grainger & Worrall and Managing Director of the Centre.

“We believe the MCMT is critical to closing the skills gap for Shropshire businesses, but we are under no illusions that we will need the rest of local industry, education and training to play their part. This could be through informing how the provision develops, using the services and even offering time and expertise to help with delivering some of the learning.”

He continued: “There are also plenty of opportunities for businesses to sponsor different learning zones or donate equipment and machinery our learners can train on.”

The Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology has received £1.9 million of funding from the Marches LEP to bring the concept into reality, with £1.1m of private funding already pledged by the consortium. Additional sponsorship and business engagement will look to bring the budget to over £4m.

It will look to support 2020 learners between now and 2020 and this will largely involve developing apprentices in advanced manufacturing and engineering, giving employers a strong pool of skills to tap into as they continue to compete globally.

In addition to this, there will also be capacity to work with 400 companies on developing existing manufacturing professionals up to Level 7 qualifications, covering business improvement techniques, team leadership, vehicle body repair and paint, vehicle body building, technical development, quality and continuous improvement.

Gareth Jones, Managing Director of In-Comm, added his support: “We will be looking to open our doors for office based courses from April 1st and full engineering courses from August 2017. There is a lot of work ahead to equip the centre and build a pipeline of learners who want to be part of something new and exciting.

“It is the clearest sign yet of the desire to reshore training provision so that local needs are met and there is no doubt we will become an important asset when looking to attract inward investment into the Marches.”

Graham Wynn OBE, Chairman of the Marches LEP, said: “Plugging the skills gaps that currently exist will mean that businesses here will be able to grow and thrive. That means more investment and more jobs, which can only have a positive impact on the economic prosperity of our county.

“The MCMT is one of three Advanced Manufacturing Hubs which are being funded by the Local Growth Fund via the Marches LEP and we’re delighted to see this milestone reached yesterday.”