Lloyds Banking Group launches multi-million pound Lloyds advanced manufacturing training centre

• Group to provide £1 million a year to fund engineering apprenticeship and trainee scheme at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry
• Apprentice and trainee scheme to address skills gap in the manufacturing sector
• Scheme will seek to develop over 1,000 apprentices and trainees during initial Lloyds Banking Group partnership
  
• All apprentices and trainees will become Lloyds Manufacturing Scholars and will benefit from training at the MTC
  

Lloyds Banking Group continues its commitment to support the UK manufacturing sector by launching a £1 million-a-year sponsorship of the Lloyds Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry. This centre will help address the sector’s skills gap in the UK and it will develop more than 1,000 engineering apprentices and trainees during the initial Lloyds Banking Group partnership. The building of the centre will begin in 2014 and it will open in 2015. 

This launch follows on from the UK Government’s announcement last week that it will provide £18 million investment in an elite training facility at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). This is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult initiative which is supported by the Technology Strategy Board and which works with companies from start-ups to listed manufacturing companies in developing innovative and next generation technology. 

Currently the MTC is developing approximately 50 apprentices and trainees, with the apprentices aged between 16 and 19 and the trainees all graduates.  With the launch of the Elite Training Centre, the MTC will now be able to focus on expanding the training programme to the next generation of engineers.

With the launch of the Centre all apprentices will become Lloyds Manufacturing Scholars and will be registered with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Apprentices will receive formal recognition from the IMechE as engineering technicians on graduation.

Further details of the apprenticeship scheme include:

• Apprentices will spend the first year of their apprenticeship in full time education at a local Further Education college
  
• Their second year will be spent at the MTC, with years three and four either spent at the MTC or in a placement at a manufacturing company based in the Midlands
  
• During years three to four, the apprentices will spend one day a week at the Lloyds Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre
  
• The Centre will develop skills to ensure long-term employment for these apprentices
  

Andrew Bester, CEO, Commercial Banking, Lloyds Banking Group said: “We recognise the fundamental role that the manufacturing sector plays in rebalancing the UK economy and we are committed to provide access to finance and competitive rates of funding. By launching this Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre we aim to address other key concerns within the sector including the skills deficit and employment opportunities.  Working with the MTC, in a state of the art training centre, we are optimistic that we will develop the next generation of world-leading engineers.

Matthew Hancock MP, Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise said: “If we are to compete in the global race for the best talent and skills we need to ensure we have the right training and opportunities in place. The launch of the Lloyds Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre is exactly the kind of initiative that we welcome if we are to create a truly world class innovative society that provides exciting opportunities for future engineers.” 

Clive Hickman, Chief Executive, Manufacturing Technology Centre said: “We are delighted that Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to partner with us to launch our new Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre.  The sponsorship provided by Lloyds will enable over 1,000 trainees to benefit from our initiative and will help us to begin to redress the skills gap that is currently constraining the growth of manufacturing in the UK”

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About the Manufacturing Technology Centre:

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is a £40.5m investment that has been developed in response to the Government’s manufacturing strategy; this strategy sets out an ambitious new vision for high technology manufacturing.  MTC was established in 2010 and opened a purpose built facility at Ansty Park, Coventry in 2011 which provides a high quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies on an industrial scale in partnership with industry, academia and government. MTC seeks to generate rapid, sustainable growth and a strong manufacturing base with effective strategic partnerships: MTC is a member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult which is a long term strategic investment by the UK government to grow the manufacturing contribution to the economy.

MTC is a collaboration between four of the leading universities and technology organisations in the UK; the Universities of Birmingham, Loughborough, Nottingham and TWI Ltd. MTC works with companies across a range of industry sectors, including aerospace, automotive, rail, food and ICT and its industrial members range from SME to large multi-national corporations.