Home > Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) and employer collaborations enhance low carbon and manufacturing provision

Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) and employer collaborations enhance low carbon and manufacturing provision

After successfully securing £4.5million of the government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund in association with the City Region’s FE college’s and training providers, the College has invested in the delivery of low carbon technologies provision at the Green Energy Skills Centre and advanced manufacturing at the STEM Centre Campus.

With the aim of upskilling industry professionals and training future engineers, the low carbon technologies provision includes a range of introductory and license to practice courses including air source and ground source heat pumps, solar photovoltaic systems and electrical vehicle charging installations, in addition to manufacturing apprenticeship delivery and technical training.

Equipment and Facilities

With the support of manufacturers, the Plumbing and Heating department have created a renewable energy hub at the £500k Green Energy Skills Centre, which includes a collection of training rigs for air source and ground source heat pumps, underfloor heating manifolds and a collection of cylinder designs.

Additionally, the £1m Centre for Precision Engineering based at the College’s STEM Centre Campus houses a brand new Festo CP Lab 400, a networked production line consisting of 6 stations, which enables apprentices to learn how to find and repair faults in a simulated work environment as a Maintenance Engineer.

Curriculum staff have undertaken rigorous CPD to deliver high-quality and well-informed training and assessment to students and apprentices.

Employer Collaboration

We work with over 15 local and national employers such as Ideal Heating, Polypipe, Glass Futures, Pressure Hydraulics and Controls, Pentre and Astech, who have provided invaluable support to help shape and design the College’s low carbon technologies and advanced manufacturing provision, with College Industry Forums in place to facilitate this collaboration.

Employer sponsorships and donations have also made a significant positive impact on students’ learning.

Rothenberg Donation — Rothenberg UK – Tools and Accessories Donation

Picture of our students with the Zenith donation — Rothenberg UK – Tools and Accessories Donation

Positive Impact for Students and Apprentices

This investment ensures students and apprentices experience hands-on, practical learning using the latest industry technology in state-of-the-art facilities to meet emerging green skills priorities and to unlock future career opportunities in the sector.