The North-West of England, once a hotbed for textiles, has reinvented itself as a centre for hi-tech manufacturing, with the region now boasting one of the largest aerospace clusters in Europe.
While economic performance has been impressive, the skills required to service this growing manufacturing base have been slower to develop.
The good news is that many traditional colleges are joining together to form Institutes of Technology (IoT), armed with government funding to invest in both people and the training equipment they need to develop the skills of the future.
At the heart of one IoT is Burnley College, a longstanding provider of training and education to its local community with multiple course types available from A Levels through to BTEC qualifications, Apprenticeships and T Levels.
The college prides itself on being open to a wide demographic, from school leavers undertaking apprenticeships through to those aspiring to go on to university and adults looking to re-skill.
With multiple divisions, from construction and engineering through to business and professional studies, the college is at the heart of the local community. The engineering and advanced manufacturing faculty in particular is at the forefront of the outreach to local business, training between 700 and 800 learners of all ages each year.
Neil Burrows, director of skills and innovation, is responsible for liaising with local industry and developing the college’s response to its needs.
“Employee engagement is massive for us,” says Neil. “The aerospace sector around here is a big employer, with Tier One supply chain companies working into the likes of Rolls-Royce, but we’re also very closely linked to more general manufacturing as well, both in terms of providing apprenticeships and reskilling the area’s workforce.
“The re-skilling element is very important for two reasons. Firstly, we’re helping people get back into the engineering sector who might have been out for a while or might be semi-skilled and want to achieve more.
“Secondly, it keeps us in touch with local employers which ensures our courses are relevant and truly responsive to their needs.”
Funding boost
Neil says the big step-change for the college was becoming part of the Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology, as part of second wave of funding for IoTs in the region in 2023.
Through this initiative, the college secured a share of £290m in government funding alongside academic partners: Blackburn College, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Nelson and Colne College Group, Preston College and Runshaw College; as well as Edge Hill University, Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire and employer partners Blackpool Transport, East Lancashire Health Trust, Leyland Trucks and Nybble.
The bid was given approval by the Department for Education in September 2023 with Burnley College receiving licenses to start delivering Level 4 and 5 qualifications, along with upskilling programmes.
He continues: “Our focus is manufacturing, advanced engineering, health and digital. We’ve always had an on-site machine shop with three Mazak machines, but we knew from talking to local employers that we needed to upgrade our technology.
“We asked them, ‘what type of work are you doing and what skills do you need?’ The answer came back that they needed a range of skills, from AutoCAD and Autodesk through to automation and tool management, but one of the biggest issues was finding 5-axis skills.”
The decision was taken to acquire two new Yamazaki Mazak CV5-500 simultaneous 5-axis machines, one of which is equipped with robotic automation.
Neil explains: “We’re helping local businesses in two ways. Firstly, by offering them a pipeline of skilled people, but we’re also finding that once we get one of our students into industry, their employers will also start using our new machines to increase their own capacity.
“As an example, we’re currently working with a Tier One aerospace supplier making components that they need to get out quickly. We’re effectively opening our doors to business on the proviso that, if you’re going to use our machines you’ve got to help us give our students real-life work experience.”
Support system
Mazak’s support proved invaluable through the bid process for the funding and in linking the college to local businesses.
“Mazak representatives are obviously very well connected, particularly within the aerospace sector. They were able to help us specify the machines by drawing on their knowledge of what manufacturers need, but also link us in with local employers who want to come to the college and see what we’ve got,” says Neil.
He says that the Mazak technology is a strong message for both employers and students. “We've got students who are coming out of the college and are familiar with Mazak CNC, which is one less thing for an employer to be worried about as part of the onboarding and induction process.”
The Mazak technology message also resonates with parents. “You have students come in with their mums and dads having a look around the facility. It has a real wow factor now and is showing young people and their parents that engineering remains a good career with a modern work environment.”
Neil says the key to supporting local manufacturing lies in being flexible within the guidelines laid down by government.
“We have to deliver Level 4 and 5 qualifications, but we’re careful to not just focus on the educational aspect. We must remember that many of our students who are coming out of industry are not too concerned with a paper qualification, it’s more about the skills,” he adds.
He continues: “It is important we’re flexible. If someone is already in work and they want to do an HNC or an HND one day a week for 12 months, we can facilitate that.
“But we also need to provide short-term skills top-up courses, such as a two-week intensive 5-axis course, for people before they go back to their day jobs.”
Driving force
One of the driving forces behind the college’s curriculum has been the formation of an advisory board from industry to consult on new courses.
“We see the Advisory Board as a forum for employers to tell us what they want, not us telling them what's on offer. Employers have been very clear that what they want is not necessarily a qualification, but a skill to get their people from point A to point B in as short a time as possible.
“So, we’re talking a lot about short courses to bring their people up-to-speed quickly. We've adapted and changed our curriculum to support what businesses need.
“A good example is our new 30-hour CNC manufacturing and tool management course, which means students can get the training done in a week and be back with the business quickly.”
In the future, Neil says the intention is to maintain dialogue with both Mazak and local employers to ensure the college’s courses remain relevant.
He explains: “We need to be looking at different processes, such as additive manufacturing and 3D printing. Industry will push forward with new technologies, and we’ve got to be able to give them the people they need. We're going to keep moving and looking at what our local businesses are going into.”
Alan Mucklow, managing director UK & national distributors, at Yamazaki Mazak, adds: “The skills shortage facing manufacturers is well-documented and will only be solved with industry and academia working together.
“This will take time, however institutions such as Burnley College are providing a roadmap for what true collaboration between both sets of stakeholders looks like, and what can be achieved with innovative thinking, open communication, and a willingness to challenge the norm.
“Exposing both the next generation of engineering talent, as well as current engineers looking to upskill, to state-of-the-art machining technology like the CV5-500 in a replica production environment is exactly the kind of development opportunities needed to drive change. We are excited to be on this journey with Neil and his team.”
Pioneering Burnley College
Developed with industry in mind, an exciting and pioneering range of IoT programmes have been launched at Burnley College and are available for learners to apply at the college’s £115m, town centre campus.
Combined with a massive investment in new technology including the 5-axis Mazak CNC machines; a cutting-edge tool management system; the latest in robotics and mechatronics technology; a ground-breaking Security Operations Centre and state-of-the-art laboratory, it offers learners seeking careers in highly-skilled roles and new learning pathways, as well as local businesses training opportunities.
To find out more about how the IoT programmes hosted at Burnley College – as a skilled professional or an employer at the forefront of any sector – visit www.burnley.ac.uk/institute-of-technology.
