Partnership to bridge northern skills gap

The AMRC Training Centre has partnered with bespoke training provider, ROI Solutions at Preston's College to strengthen the provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses across the North West.

This unique collaboration between the leading skills development organisations will help businesses combat the skills gap by upskilling the regional workforce.

The partnership aims to add considerable value to the range of training already offered by ROI Solutions, of which more than 80 per cent of its learners are adults.

The AMRC Training Centre is regarded as a Centre of Excellence for CPD delivery.

Graham Small, CPD Training Manager at the AMRC Training Centre, said: "We are delighted to be working with Preston's College to provide opportunities for companies in the high value engineering sector to continue to develop their employees knowledge and skills.

"Our trainers will deliver a range of training, starting with a suite of one day metallurgy courses.

"We will also be offering opportunities for technical staff who are routinely involved in the processing or testing of metals-based products to secure the METTECH Metals Technology Certificate."

Carl Speight, Vice Principal at Preston's College, said: "Were delighted to have AMRC Training Centre on board as our latest partner. Its approach towards skills delivery is very much aligned with our entire ethos and vision at the College, which is to provide businesses with the most employable workforce that possess the skills, experience and qualifications that the company and their industry wants and needs.

"Working in alliance with AMRC Training Centre and its skilled team will also enable us to increase our reach across the North and access more businesses and learners than before.

"We are very much looking forward to the road ahead and ultimately achieving our vision of becoming the leading provider of skill-based and STEM education in the North of England."

Courses will be predominantly delivered at Preston's Colleges new £13m iSTEM Centre, but can be delivered in other locations for appropriate group sizes.

The focus for the first series of courses announced is on a variety of aspects of metallurgy, with the first course on the Fundamentals of Metallurgy.

ROI Solutions was launched in September and is a specialist employer-facing service at Preston's College designed to provide businesses with a positive return on investment. Led by a team of industry training experts, it offers apprenticeships, bespoke training, CPD programmes, e-learning and higher education courses that have been designed to align with a company's skills and growth needs.

Pictured (l-r) after signing the Memorandum of Understanding are Mick Noblett and Carl Speight from Preston's College and Graham Small from the AMRC Training Centre.