Telford College is investing £500,000 on upgrading its advanced manufacturing and electrification centre to help deliver a series of new skills-boosting training packages.

It is part of a £2.5 million scheme to expand skills training in the manufacturing, engineering and construction sectors across the Marches region – with a particular focus on green skills and environmental technologies.

Telford College will be delivering four training programmes for maintenance technicians at its Wellington campus as part of the project, focusing on electronics, electrics, mechanics, and automation.

It will also be offering a new ‘Supervising in Construction’ programme, made up of six one-day modules which can be completed either individually, or as a block. They pave the way for further sustainability upskilling and reskilling in the college’s Retrofit Skills Lab.

The investment is part of the Marches Education Partnership, backed by the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF).

Robert Lees, director of automotive, construction and engineering at Telford College, said: “We are leading on the delivery of the ‘Developing Manufacturing and Engineering Skills’ element of this latest scheme.

“Our programmes have been tailored to address skills shortages in the manufacturing and engineering sectors and support greater automation – with a particular focus on manufacturing engineering maintenance.

“To help deliver the training, a £500,000 investment is being made in upgrading the already industry-standard engineering training facilities.

“The facility already includes a Computer Aided Design (CAD) suite, plus welding bays, milling stations, robotics and computer numerical control machines. It is due to be completed by September this year.”

He said the new study programmes offered a pathway to higher level professional skills development studies at Telford College, such as HND or HNC general engineering, engineering manufacturing, and engineering maintenance.

The current Marches Education Partnership project will see the launch of 14 new training centres and the creation of at least 30 new courses to meet what the partners describe as some of the region’s ‘most significant sectors’, working closely with local employers.

The aim is to ensure that people seeking careers in growing sectors such as green energy, digital and construction – or looking to upskill for career development – can access improved skills training, helping them secure good jobs closer to home.

Telford College principal and chief executive Graham Guest. “This is an incredibly exciting programme, and we’d like to say a big thanks to the employer representative bodies involved in the Local Skills Improvement Plan, and the team at Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, for all their help and support.”