Biotechnology and Composites industries get training boost from National Skills Academy
25 Jan 2011
Two of the UK’s most important growth industries received a boost today as Skills Minister John Hayes announced a new National Skills Academy (NSA) for Composites and Biotechnology.
The Academy, which will form part of the National Skills Academy
for Process Industries, will receive up to £1.98m of funding over 3 years,
matched by employers. It will work with employers, the Life Sciences Advisory
Council, the National Composites Centre and specialist training providers to
develop new professional standards and training programmes that meet the fast
evolving skills needs of these hi-tech industries.
Skills Minister John Hayes said:
“Composites and biotechnology are highly
competitive sectors around the world and both are poised for substantial
growth. If we want to secure that growth and investment in the UK, it's vital
that we can provide a highly skilled workforce. The Academy will bring
government agencies, education providers and employers together, delivering
world class training to keep Britain
on the cutting edge of technological progress.”
For Biotechnology, a sector with a turnover
of over £5bn and a workforce of around 38,000 is expected to grow through
increased adoption of biotechnology by many different sectors in the economy
such as pharmaceutical production, fuel production, novel plastics and
chemicals. Biotechnology will become increasingly important as it may help the UK meet
societal challenges of an aging population, improving sustainability and
decarbonising our industry and transport sectors. The growth of companies using
biotechnology will be supported by the NSA ensuring they are able to develop a
skilled workforce through tailored training packages to meet the industry's
changing needs.
For Composites, a sector with a turnover of
around £1.5bn, employing over 40,000 people, with recent annual growth of 15%
for carbon fibre composites, the NSA can support growth in low carbon
technologies and "light weighting" of major structures such as
wind-turbine blades and aircraft wings. The key role of the NSA is to raise the
quality of composites training as well as improving the skills of the existing
manufacturing workforce with composites-specific skills. This includes working
with the Sector Skills Councils to develop and implement new apprenticeship
frameworks that will deliver more advanced training.
