New centre opens for skills development and retention

One of the UK’s leading automotive suppliers has joined forces with In-Comm Training to boost its learning and development offer and support employee retention.

Gestamp, which manufactures metal components for use in car body structures, has invested in a dedicated training centre at its plant in Four Ashes in Wolverhampton.

Six classrooms are being used to deliver Lean Manufacturing apprenticeships for a minimum of 60 existing team members every year, as well as a host of other development activities designed to increase the skills base of its 650-strong workforce.

The Gestamp Training Centre took twelve months to develop and houses two In-Comm training experts, as well as Gestamp training specialists to oversee the Level 2 course that combines theory with practical shopfloor tuition.

Staff undertake a 10-week programme of before completing an improvement project on the shopfloor and an endpoint assessment.

This initiative has been supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority, allowing Gestamp access to unspent levy funding to use the apprenticeship model to develop existing staff and new recruits.

The longer-term vision for the facility is that it will grow to offer more technical courses and qualifications.

“We’ve transitioned and recruited 650 staff to our new Four Ashes manufacturing facility and, now this is complete, the next step was to get the centre up and running,” commented Philip Carr, learning and development manager at Gestamp.

“In-Comm has been supporting us with apprenticeships and upskilling courses for more than a decade, so are the perfect partner to team up with to make this a reality.

“In addition to boosting the skills within the business, we also want to give employees an incentive to stay with us. The current labour market is so competitive and ‘retention’ is just as big as recruitment for us.”

Gestamp invested more than £50m in the purpose-built facility in Four Ashes, a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant which produces hot and cold stampings to all of the major automotive brands.

The company is also working with In-Comm to deliver apprenticeships in toolmaking, robotics, skilled maintenance and continuous improvement.

Bekki Phillips, chief operating officer at In-Comm added: “This is another fantastic example of how we are taking an employer-led approach to bridging the skills gap in industry.

“It’s more than just delivering courses; it’s about working with manufacturers to identify current and future issues then creating innovative solutions that provide both short and long-term answers.”

Gestamp

www.gestamp.com  

In-Comm Training

www.in-comm.co.uk