More than 100 people took advantage of two special open ‘lunchtimes’ held by the Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology (MCMT).
The £3 million training hub opened the doors of its 36,000ft2 facility on the Stanmore Industrial Estate in a bid to give local employers a taste of what is to come as construction work gathers pace.
Companies, including SNG Barratt and Mitchell Competition Engines, were walked through the type of learning opportunities that will be available, how they can get involved and a brief insight into the wide array of technology that will shortly be installed.
This includes dedicated fabrication, foundry, lathe, metrology, milling, robotics and vehicle trimming sections, as well as a specialist CNC Zone and spray booth/mixing capabilities. There will also be an auditorium lecture theatre, bespoke learning environments, 5 vehicle ramps and a rolling road test facility.
Matthew Snelson, managing director of MCMT, said: “The concrete floor is now complete, which signals the start of the construction and fit-out. It also means we need to seriously start looking at recruitment of our first cohort of apprentices and this will involve lots of employer engagement events and special open days for parents, schools and children.
“Our first two open lunchtimes were very well attended and there was a lot of interest in the initial apprenticeships we are offering, not to mention the chance for firms to tap into CPD opportunities and the new technology we will be installing. There seemed a general consensus that the MCMT will take apprenticeship and bespoke training provision to a new level, a vision we will be working hard to achieve.”
SNG Barratt, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of classic and modern Jaguar parts, was one of the first businesses to attend the open day.
The company employs 80 people in Bridgnorth and operates a dedicated manufacturing and assembly operation that produces thousands of parts that are no longer available anywhere else.
MCMT www.mcmt.co.uk
