ECMS joins forces with In-Comm Training to launch National Press and Tooling Centre

The University of Wolverhampton’s Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills (ECMS) has formed an exciting partnership with In-Comm Training to help boost UK manufacturing skills.

The ECMS’ new National Press and Tooling Centre, designed and developed in conjunction with the Confederation of British Metalforming, will be located at the training provider’s Aldridge academy and will focus on delivering toolmaking apprenticeships and technical courses for more than 2000 people.

Over £1.4m has been invested in creating a modern toolroom that features a host of new equipment and two 110 tonne state-of-the-art presses sourced by Bruderer UK and Worcester Presses - complete with the latest servo feed, decoiling equipment and robotics.

A £500,000 state-of-the-art BSTA-280 tonne press will also be arriving in November to complete the line-up.

Gareth Jones, Managing Director at In-Comm Training, said: “We have listened to what industry wants and designed a centre that is equipped with world class machinery and where world class training will be delivered by some of the finest technical experts in the business.

“No other organisation in the Midlands is currently offering this kind of training facility and we are expecting demand to be huge, especially with toolmaking considered a dying manufacturing art.

He continued: “We already have a very strong relationship with the University of Wolverhampton, having worked with them on a number of previous projects. Together, we are looking forward to welcoming our first intake of apprentices and supporting more manufacturers in the Midlands and the rest of the UK.”

Ian Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive of the ECMS, added his support: “It’s well known that the manufacturing industry has an ageing workforce and that bespoke training courses -specifically matching industry requirements - can be quite difficult to source.

“Our aim at the ECMS is to give our learners a clear line of sight and a career pathway from Levels 2, 3 and 4, through to Higher National Certificate and Diploma and then Degree Apprenticeships. By partnering with organisations such as In-Comm we can offer a complete or bespoke training package for the manufacturing sector through both practical and theoretical learning.”

In-Comm Training, which operates its own Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ academy in Aldridge and the Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology in Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury, is one of the UK’s leading training providers, working across more than 10 sectors and with 250 different companies.

It delivers over 500 apprenticeships every year and more than 100 bitesize and in-depth training courses, covering business improvement techniques, quality, lean manufacturing and applications engineering.

About the ECMS

ECMS is a collaboration between the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, University of Wolverhampton, Dudley College, Cast Metals Federation, Confederation of British Metalforming, Institute of Cast Metals Engineers and In-Comm Training.

Partners have invested £12.6 million in the future of manufacturing in the region by opening bespoke, dedicated training centres and working with existing training providers to equip people with manufacturing skills including casting, toolmaking, patternmaking, metalforming, forging and foundry training, as well as mechatronics, product design and development and advanced computer numerical control.

In addition to its new partnership with In-Comm Training, the ECMS runs the UK’s only National Foundry Training Centre based in Tipton and has its Hub at the £100 million Springfield Campus in Wolverhampton as well as working with Dudley College.

Apprentices learn on the job at one of the ECMS’s training Hub or Spokes equipped with new training rooms, metallurgy and metrology labs with access to partner training centres and state-of-the-art engineering facilities.

All apprenticeships meet the New Apprenticeship Standards with a variety of delivery models available.

Employers or potential apprentices should contact Trevor Codner at the ECMS on 0800 953 3222 or 01902 321663. More information on In-Comm Training can be found at www.in-comm.co.uk or by following @incomm_training on twitter.

Picture caption: Ian Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive at the ECMS on the left and Gareth Jones, Managing Director at In-Comm Training on the right.

ENDS