17 Mar 2010
Lord Mandelson today within his "New Industry, New Jobs: One Year on" speech has given the green light to an extension of the National Skills Academy Process Industries to create two new hubs for Biotechnology and Composites.
The Skills for Growth strategy announced back in October 2009 invited bids for new National Skills Academies. The extension bid to include composites and biotechnology by Cogent Sector Skills Council (SSC) and the National Skills Academy Process Industries is the first of its kind, and provides a platform to support the skills needed to help these UK industries become world leaders.
The extension is an evolution of the Academy’s current role and fits perfectly within their current remit. It is also a strategically important platform for the development of emerging technologies in the chemical, polymer and pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors.
Phil Jones, CEO for the Academy welcomed today’s announcement, “Biotechnology is one of the most demanding and rapidly growing fields in science. The growth in both research and product development activities in biotechnology requires highly trained personnel in order to deliver solutions to the agricultural industry and the health sector, which will in turn benefit society and help drive forward the economy.
“We are also extremely pleased to hear Business Minister Ian Lucas announce the proposed site for the National Composites Centre in Bristol.” This is another key milestone in the development of a low-carbon economy and the Academy will now help to tackle key strategic challenges currently being faced by the aerospace and power generation industries through the development of the Composite hub.“
Joanna Woolf, CEO of Cogent SSC said, “We are looking forward to continuing our working relationship with the Learning Skills Council (LSC) and subsequently the Skills Funding Agency to develop our business plans and ultimately deliver training solutions tailored to employers needs and tackling long-term challenges faced by the sector’s workforce. The announcement is great news for employers in some of the UK’s most innovative industries and is a testament to the value they place on the work of Cogent and the National Skills Academy Process Industries. We would like to thank all the industrialists, trade bodies and stakeholders who have been so supportive in helping us develop the bid to the LSC and extend our capacity to provide skills solutions for composites and biotechnology employers.”
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