UK Government approves National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply

Proskills, the sector skills council for the UK print and paper industries, has received Government approval to establish an employer-led National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply (NSAMPS). The new academy will facilitate access to industry-specific, customized and quality assured training in the manufacturing sectors including building products, coatings, extractives and mineral processing, furniture, glass, paper and print as well as glazed ceramics.

The announcement was made on March 4 by Skills Minister Lord Young, and marks the eleventh skills academy to be established as part of the Government’s expanding National Skills Academy network. 

‘I am delighted to announce the approval of the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply,’ announced Lord Young MP, Minister for Skills at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). ‘In the current economic climate when businesses are struggling, it is especially important for employers to invest in skills and training. The National Skills Academy Network is led by employers and enables them to focus on developing the key skills needed in each industry to help drive it forward.’

The National Skills Academy for Materials, Production and Supply has been created to work with employers and training providers to develop and deliver sustainable, employer-led education, training and skills to address the growing skills gap, and is centered on innovative and progressive workplace delivery. 

The academy will be run as a wholly owned subsidiary of Proskills, the Sector Skills Council for the process and manufacturing industries, which includes the print and paper industries industry, under the direction of a Council of Governors comprising employers and trade unions.

Terry Watts, chief executive of Proskills said: ‘We have long shared employers’ determination to make the National Skills Academy a reality, and we are therefore extremely pleased we can now move ahead from business planning to actual implementation and delivery. Our academy represents a much-needed center of excellence for employers in learning, training and education. The key activity of Proskills is to support employers right across the process and manufacturing industries to develop their employees so that they can perform their jobs to world-class standards. This in turn will boost efficiency, productivity and innovation and prepare workforces to take advantage of the upturn in the economy.’

The announcement follows the submission last December of a detailed, long term business plan led by project director Craig Crowther and steered by an employer-led Council of Governors.

Craig Crowther, who led the academy during its business planning phase, will now assume the role of interim general manager. ‘It is vital that the support from the employers for the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply is now translated into action that delivers the skilled employees needed for these companies to be globally competitive,’ said Crowther.

The structure of the Skills Academy
The National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply will operate via a small co-ordinating head office, located at the existing Proskills offices in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. This central administrative office will be supported by a strong network of delivery arms – Employer Learning Centers and Employer Training Clusters.   Together with a nationwide network of licensed Academy Training Providers and a core range of products and services, this ‘hub and spoke’ model will ensure appropriate geographical and sectoral reach across the footprint industries throughout the UK.

Employer support
Leading employers supporting the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply include: Ardagh glass, Autowindscreens, Crown Paints, Heidelberg UK, News Printers, Polestar UK, Print Ltd, Safestyle UK, Statex Colour Print and Sonneborn & Rieck.

Employers will be engaged in every aspects of the academy including articulating the present and future skills needs of the sector, providing facilities and support for the establishment of Employer Learning Centers, supporting the development of products and services, forming the Board to drive the skills academy, and engaging in Regional Training Clusters.

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