A TRAINING course has been launched to help high-tech manufacturers in the Malvern Hills tackle skills shortages as their businesses grow.
The 14-week manufacturing and systems optimisation course has been developed by the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford following discussions with manufacturing businesses in the district.
Malvern Hills District Council has provided initial funding for the programme, which is intended to help experienced production, maintenance and technical workers develop the skills needed to move into supervisory roles.
The first course has launched with a fully subscribed group of students.
Council chairperson Beverley Nielsen said the programme had emerged from the authority’s High Growth Forum, which was established just over two years ago.
She said: “Through this forum, we learnt more about their skills shortages and how we could help them tackle these by upskilling their existing manufacturing technicians.
“We brought NMITE to Malvern to work with us and the result has been this new 14-week course specifically created to meet their needs.”
Cllr Nielsen said the council would be interested to hear from manufacturers about how it could continue to support them.
The High Growth Forum was created to bring together businesses focused on growth, high-quality jobs and innovation and to identify areas where the council could offer support.
NMITE associate professor Peter Metcalfe said the course was the result of two years of work involving the council, the institution and high-growth manufacturing businesses.
He said: “This new course has been shaped from this dialogue, and we’re delighted that we’ve been able to fill it with such an enthusiastic cohort of work-based students.
“We hope to be able to run further courses and keep learning from the feedback we receive.”
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The scheme comes after businesses in the Malvern Hills raised concerns about shortages of skilled and technical workers.
In 2024, companies attending the Malvern Hills High Growth Company Forum, including QinetiQ, Metrasens and Lucart, indicated that between them they were looking to recruit several hundred skilled and technical workers in the coming years.
Manufacturing and engineering also represent a significant part of Worcestershire’s economy.
Worcestershire County Council says more than 28,000 people are employed in jobs related to advanced manufacturing, accounting for 10.5 percent of employment in the county.
