The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has awarded £9.2 million from the Regional Growth Fund to establish the centre, which will provide training for companies along the supply chain in high-value manufacturing sectors. The AMI Training Centre will provide training in the practical and academic skills that manufacturing companies need to compete globally, from apprenticeship through to Doctorate and MBA level and will focus on high-level apprentice training, concentrating on sectors such as aerospace, energy and Formula One. Young people entering the AMI Training Centre will embark on a lifetime of learning that can take them through specialised technician training, part-time undergraduate and Masters study, to Executive MBA and Engineering Doctorate study, all within the same institution. Over 200 apprentices will enter the AMI Training Centre each year, where they will receive nine to 12 months of intensive skills training. The training schedule will be guided by the AMI's industrial partners and participating companies. Sheffield Hallam University will deliver part-time BEng programme, while the University of Sheffield will deliver part-time MSc, MBA, Executive MBA and EngD programmes. Professor Keith Ridgway OBE, executive dean of manufacturing at the AMI, said: “We are delighted that the government is supporting us in this initiative. It will encourage more manufacturing companies to employ young people with the confidence that they are receiving the world class skills training they need to compete in today's advanced manufacturing sectors.”
The AMI Training Centre will be based in a new 5,000m² building, to be situated close to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC) and the Nuclear AMRC. It will open for business in September 2013. Total costs for establishing the Training Centre are £20.5 million, with the remainder coming from participating companies and other funding streams. www.shef.ac.uk/ami
