Headquartered in Coventry, adjoining the existing Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), it represents an investment of some £36 million and, with £5 million support of Lloyds, anticipates processing some 1,000 apprentices over five years (This effort is part of the bank's 'Helping Britain Prosper Plan') .
Part of the UK’s National College for Advanced Manufacturing (jointly headquartered here and at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing between Sheffield and Rotherham), the new centre is a flagship facility for advanced apprenticeship programmes (NVQ level 3).
There are already almost 80 apprentices on the centre’s books – 36 in their second year (having started at college prior to building completion), with 40 having joined this year – the current 40/year intake is to rise to 60 from 2018. Lloyds bank provides funding support for the initial two years’ study, with SMEs, equipment manufacturers and so on sponsoring apprentices in years three and four.
Apprentices will receive formal recognition from the IMechE as engineering technicians on graduation and, on completion of their apprenticeship programme, individuals can choose to progress to degree-level education or complete alternative further qualifications before moving into the industry.
The centre will also offer external training, up-skilling and re-skilling existing manufacturing engineers.
The new Lloyds Bank Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre at Coventry has been built adjacent to the existing Manufacturing Technology Centre
Apprentices will learn about latest technology in areas such as intelligent automation, additive layer manufacture, robotics, metrology, mechatronics, computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided machining (CAM). They will be able to test and develop their skills in sponsored placements, including the opportunity to undertake international assignments with MTC members and supporters.
In their first year, apprentices learn the basics of engineering and manufacturing offsite before using the sophisticated high-tech equipment in the AMTC, working four days on-site and one day off-site during their second year.
At the official opening, MTC technical director Professor Ken Young said: “The fact is there is a skill shortage, but for us it’s even worse than that. We’re developing technologies that are the next generation [of technology] we are going to use in manufacturing and, at the moment, nobody knows how to run those technologies.
“There are some technologies we’re using today, like metrology and CNC machining, which are out there, just not with sufficient numbers of people with the skills. But some of things we are developing here – net shape and additive manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and informatics, the use of IT in manufacturing, plus intelligent automation that is looking to replace jobs currently done by people and where sensory capability is required – we can’t go anywhere and get those skills; they just do not exist at the moment.
“So, while developing those technologies [at the MTC], in parallel to that we realised we had to have a centre over here, developing the apprentices and, ultimately, graduates and post-graduates to actually make the stuff happen and start to make money out of it [advanced technologies] for the UK.”
Linking to that, MTC and training centre partner Bosch Rexroth was in attendance and was showing off training equipment/materials in a training room, part of which featured Industry 4.0-related kit. Partially complete, this takes in a conveyor and part feeding and sorting capability, and is driven by a programmable logic controller (PLC), employing pneumatic devices to interact with parts placed on the conveyor. The system showcased Bosch Rexroth ‘Open Core’ technology.
Bosch Rexroth's Dave Stirling alongside the company's Industry 4.0 rig. Helping to give apprentices skills required for then future
According to the company’s technical and training manager Dave Stirling, ladder logic and function block programming languages as used historically to program PLCs are alien to today’s engineers, who are more likely to be familiar with C++, java and smartphone operating systems such as Android. This can be a barrier to the use of Bosch Rexroth’s equipment, so Open Core sees firmware sit above the ladder logic program element of a PLC, allowing users to connect to the device over Wifi, for example, and interact with the company’s technology via a touch-screen and Android icon-based interfaces.
Echoing Professor Young’s future skills emphasis, the Bosch Rexroth training materials are currently undergoing an NVQ mapping exercise, explained Andrew Minturn, system sales, aerospace at Bosch Rexroth, so that knowledge imparted through its efforts can form part of an apprenticeship qualification. Bosch Rexroth technology features in five out of the five modules that apprentices must go take during their second year, Minturn added.
Other training centre partners include: DMG Mori, Hexagon Intelligent Manufacturing (previously Hexagon Metrology) and Siemens, all of which have their technology represented in the centre.
