Joanna Woolf, Cogent CEO said: “Skills gaps and shortages are the biggest challenge facing the Cogent industries. UK manufacturing cannot match the low-labour costs of our fast emerging competitor economies. We must now compete on quality and innovation and that means improving the skills base has become an imperative in these science-based industries.

“We are delighted that we have been able to secure the funding to drive these projects forward and we will be working closely with employers to ensure that their employees fully benefit from what’s on offer.

” Cogent employers need thousands of highly skilled and flexible scientists, engineers, production operatives, managers and leaders. It is experiencing an ageing workforce and a decline in the number of technically trained people coming through the system. This funding directly supports this pressing need.”

The projects are as follows:

National Skills Academy for the Process Industries:

The Learning and Skills Council is providing up to  £600,000 to fund the development of a Skills Academy for the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymer industries.  The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) approved an expression of interest from Cogent, allowing a business plan for the proposed National Skills Academy submission to be prepared. If the Skills Academy attracts sufficient employer investment and is approved, it is planned to go live at the end of 2007. Employer-led Academies will play a transformational and catalytic role. They will ensure high quality training provision in the Cogent industries and drive up standards by working with leading companies and training and education providers.

Chris Banks, Chairman of the Learning and Skills Council said: “It is a fact that having a motivated and skilled workforce improves the productivity of individuals and the performance of business overall. National Skills Academies put employers right at the heart of developing high-quality and relevant training programmes to improve the skills of the workforce for their own sector. The commitment of so many top employers to date has been impressive; this is because the National Skills Academies provide a golden opportunity for employers and Government to work together and build a Britain of enterprise and opportunity."

The Academy will focus on employer-endorsed vocational learning with links into Higher Education and will consider the skills needs of both the existing and the future workforce. It is intended to serve process companies which combined have a turnover of £67.1 billion and a Gross Value Added in excess of £23 billion, which is over 15% of total UK manufacturing GVA.

Trialing a modular Approach to NVQs:

Cogent has secured in the region of £150,000 from the QCA as part of its Vocational Qualification Reform Programme. Cogent employers have said that they need a system that is practical, cost effective, simple to operate and supports the existing qualifications that are endorsed by the sector. This funded project relates to Cogent’s Upskill project and will test out a modular “bite-sized” approach to undertaking NVQs in Polymers at Level 2 and in Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Pharmaceuticals at Level 3. The overall aim is to improve the access and uptake of these qualifications. These modular, individually accredited programmes will also reflect the requirements of the Cogent “Gold Standard” for the job roles in the sector.   The Gold Standard is defining the skills, competencies and qualifications required for a world-class process industry.

New SE Composites Training Course

The South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) is providing £200,000 to fund an important training programme that meets the needs of the composites industry, a high-growth, hi-tech sector which is critical to the economic success of the region and which sits within Cogent’s footprint. Employers in the sector have a pressing demand for the training, which is not currently supplied by any of the local providers. This project also links to Cogent’s Upskill programme.

The programme will address skill shortages at Level 3 and above. Cogent will work with partners (Isle of Wight College, Southampton City College and composites employers) to develop a specific qualification for Composite Technologies. This will be rolled out across the South East which is the home to over 170 organisations associated with composites. Composites are used in, for example, automotive manufacture and can reduce weight by up to 30%, reduce corrosion and reduce fuel consumption.

For further information regarding this press relaease, please contact Judith Cowan