Rotherham Council has approved plans for a world-class Training Centre focused on advanced manufacture. The AMRC Training Centre is part of a complex of state-of-the-art facilities at The University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP). The site is located just off the M1 at Waverley, owned by Harworth Estates and within the Sheffield Enterprise Zone.
The 5,566 sq. m. development will develop highly-qualified people in preparation for work in all areas of the engineering sector, and is a crucial next step in the development of a hub of advanced manufacturing expertise around the initial Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, which now involves some 60 partner companies, including world-leaders such as Rolls-Royce.
Harworth Estates’ development manager for the Waverley site, Duncan Armstrong-Payne, said:
“This is the green light for a key new development on the Waverley AMP site. The AMRC Training Centre will provide world class facilities which will complement the work already being carried out at the AMP, where Rolls-Royce recently announced it will build its new turbine blades facility.”
The AMRC Training Centre will provide training in the practical and academic skills that manufacturing companies need to compete globally, from apprenticeship through to Doctorate and MBA level. Its focus will be on 250 young people training as apprentices each year, with as many as 400 on site once the programme is fully underway.
Research Director and Founder of the AMRC Professor Keith Ridgway believes that the AMRC Training Centre is fundamental to the regeneration of the area and its full transformation into a national and international hub for advanced manufacture:
“The AMRC Training Centre is essential to our vision of bringing together research and world-class Engineering of the kind carried out at The University of Sheffield with real business challenges and issues in manufacture. As well as the latest equipment and facilities, companies need staff who understand the new context and who have worked alongside engineers and the very latest understanding. The AMRC Training Centre will provide exactly that – real opportunities for young people to work but also learn the latest in Engineering, even potentially taking a degree part time or beyond that.”
University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Burnett also welcomed the news that planning permission has been granted for the AMRC Training Centre:
“The AMRC Training Centre is a model which supports the development of talented young engineers and manufacturers, but also offers these apprentices a fantastic opportunity to gain experience working and learning with the world’s best. As companies continue to locate in the area around the collaborative expertise of our outstanding Engineers and supply chain companies, the AMRC Training Centre will provide the skill base to support business growth.”
The Centre will focus on high-level apprentice training, concentrating on sectors such as aerospace, energy and Formula One. It will also host part time CPD courses with the training schedule guided by the AMRC’s industrial partners and participating companies.
Notes for Editors
1. In addition to the development of the AMRC Training Centre, the Advanced Manufacturing Park is also home to the original University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing, the Nuclear AMRC, the AMRC Knowledge Transfer Centre and the Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future – a high-spec energy efficient factory built to the highest environmental standards. The Centres are home to a wide range of expertise including composites, drilling and machining and virtual reality prototyping. Plans are also underway to create a specialist AMRC Centre for Engineering Design.
2. The University of Sheffield is home to one of the world’s best Faculties of Engineering and plans are currently being developed to dramatically enhance facilities for Engineering on the University campus, including a new home for the Faculty on the site of the former Jessop Hospital – a world-class building which will attract the cream of global engineering talent to the city and region.
3. Waverley is Harworth Estates’ 700 acre former UK Coal surface mine site that has been restored for the development of a new residential and business community between Sheffield and Rotherham in the heart of the Sheffield City Region and within the LEP’s Enterprise Zone.
With around 4,000 new homes, with the first now underway, Waverley is to be home to 9,000 people, living in a green and attractive lakeside community. Along with the adjoining commercial developments and the well established Advanced Manufacturing Park, Waverley will create around 7,000 new jobs.
For further information please contact Andy Evans at Pure PR on 0844 800 1097 andandyevans@purepr.co.uk
