Emma was welcomed to the new employer-led training facility by The Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills, along with partners Dudley College, Cast Metals Federation, Confederation of British Metalforming and the Institute of Cast Metals Engineers.
The project has been partly funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership. The ECMS Hub will be based at the University’s £100 million Springfield Campus and will deliver skills training through short courses and apprenticeships at three spoke locations in the Midlands – Tipton, West Bromwich and Dudley.
Emma said: “The manufacturing industry faces an ageing workforce and a skills shortage, and the ECMS was set up to address this. The centre offers training courses right up to degree apprenticeships, so is able to offer training and upskilling throughout people’s careers.
“I was delighted to visit the ECMS and discuss its work with Ian Fitzpatrick and his team who have engaged with the manufacturing industry to understand what they need from a training centre like this. I also met with the trade association and training providers who work in partnership with the ECMS. The University of Wolverhampton’s vision for the Springfield Brewery site is to become a national training hub with international significance, with the ECMS, the adjacent University Technical College and the under-construction School of Architecture and the Built Environment.
“It is so welcome to see the former Springfield Brewery site come back to use. The site has such a long history of manufacturing, so it is fitting to see it given a new lease of life training future generations for the manufacturing sector.”
