A £14.6m investment is set to be made into a new project aiming to drive forward a new generation of skilled local workers in electric vehicle and battery technology.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and local authority leaders at the North East Combined Authority are set to approve the landmark skills investment into MADE NE – Manufacturing, Automation, Digitalisation, Electrification North East – a project poised to be led by car giant Nissan with a mission to create world-leading training facilities across two sites at the International Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Site (IAMSS) in Sunderland.
MADE NE is the first project to come forward as part of the region’s Investment Zone – a £160m, 10-year programme expected to create at least 4,000 jobs and secure £3bn of private sector investment – and a report to the Mayor and Cabinet recommends the project receives £9.7m from the Combined Authority. The multimillion-pound facility will provide facilities to industry for skills training within the region’s advanced manufacturing sector, with a special focus on EV and battery manufacturing, covering the development of skills from primary school to apprenticeships, as well as including in-work learning and training.
The centre aims to support targeted industrial innovation projects with funding and equipment, and also aims to be self-sustaining in five years, generating revenue linked with the delivery of apprenticeships as well as through sub-letting space to businesses. The plan has been developed in partnership by Nissan with the Combined Authority, Sunderland City Council, Education Partnership North East (EPNE), New College Durham, AESC, Vantec, Newcastle University, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and the North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA).
Plans for MADE NE will go before the North East Combined Authority Cabinet at its meeting next Tuesday, July 30.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “In my manifesto I promised to back our world-leading automotive industry. Now we are delivering. This investment will unlock a generation of skilled workers and create opportunities for local people and businesses.
