The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board has awarded £250,000 to develop robotics skills in the region
The money awarded will help to fund the Cumbria Robotics Operations Skills Centre (CROSS) and develop construction robotics skills.
The centre is due to open later this year and is being funded by several different organisations.
Plans for CROSS were first announced in April
Besides the ECITB, the centre is also being developed in collaboration with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the National College for Nuclear and Clean Energy (NCfN&CE), the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration (RIACo), Sellafield Ltd and its supply chain, and Lakes College.
The ECITB’s additional funding comes from the same pot funding Regional Skills Hubs, encouraging the development of skills training in various areas of the UK, and will support the delivery of CROSS including the curriculum, bite-sized courses, and teaching resources.
The ECITB’s Regional Skills Hubs funding initiative has committed more than £3m to boosting training provider capacity and to growing new entrant numbers in the industry. Eligible projects may be given anywhere between £50,000 and £500,000, and so far ECITB has allocated £1.6m in funding.
Andrew Hockey, ECITB chief executive, said: “The ECITB is delighted to support this innovative project in Cumbria from our Regional Skills Hub funding, which targets capacity-building projects like this in the UK’s industrial heartlands.
“Industry intelligence shows there is currently a lack of industry-applicable robotics training available for careers in the engineering construction industry (ECI).
“A key pillar of the ECITB’s Leading Industry Learning strategy under the Transform pillar is to drive technology adoption through training to allow industry to harness new technologies, including robotics.
“This project and the new, cutting-edge CROSS facility help meet this objective by delivering much-needed robotics training to benefit Sellafield nuclear site and other ECI sectors in the future.
“Our investment and collaboration with project partners positions the ECITB at the heart of emerging ECI robotics modularised training development and roll-out.”
Developing skills across the UK
The funding can go both ways, however. In June, the board was awarded £372,842 by the Scottish government to support the Scottish offshore wind sector, including creating training routes for new entrants, career changers, military leavers, and workers transitioning from the oil and gas industry.
Scottish Government energy minister, Stephen Gethins MSP, said: “I am determined to make the most of Scotland’s remarkable energy potential, with industry reports estimating offshore wind could support up to 49,000 jobs in Scotland. That is why it is at the centre of both our energy and economic ambitions.
“The Scottish Government is doing everything within our power to help seize this exciting opportunity, and that starts by focusing on skills to ensure communities benefit directly from employment opportunities and businesses have the skilled workforce they need to grow. Supporting these three projects with almost £1.7m is central to that, and there will be more to come.”
ECITB chief executive, Andrew Hockey, said: “I was delighted to see this announcement from the Scottish Government. This funding will enable the ECITB to be able to deploy and build on our efforts in developing the skills needed for the offshore wind industry, fully in line with our 2026-2030 strategy to lead industry learning.”
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