Over £1m has been invested by the two partners to create a commercial toolroom in the training provider’s facility in Aldridge, which will produce complex tooling and provide training for future toolmakers and designers.
The Precision Tooling Academy will provide companies with access to professional toolmaking courses, upskilling opportunities for qualified engineers looking to diversify their skills, and a Level 6 Tool Process Design Apprenticeship to develop the next generation of talent.
According to a statement, a major car manufacturer has agreed to be the first company to put their staff through the toolmaking course and has contributed to the development of the curriculum.
Gareth Jones, managing director at In-Comm Training, said: “We have always placed employers at the heart of our approach to skills and, through our close relationship with Brandauer, identified a real demand to create and upskill engineers into world-class toolmakers.
“Lots of conversations turned into a rough plan to create an advanced training academy that is embedded into a live commercial toolroom. This would serve two purposes…provide the best possible hands-on practical and theoretical training, whilst also giving the precision stamping specialist additional capacity to meet the growing global demand for more UK made tools.
“This isn’t just a ground-breaking project for our two businesses, but for manufacturing as a whole. We immediately have provision for 35 training places, yet this could easily expand with more companies getting involved.”
The Precision Tooling Academy has also attracted the support of Inventive Engineering & Design and Hexagon, who will bring product development, jig and fixture design and VISI die making expertise to the fore.
“This is a real industry collaboration featuring some of the best names in training, toolmaking and tool design,” said Rowan Crozier, CEO of Birmingham-based Brandauer.
“We are talking about one of the ‘great’ manufacturing disciplines and we’re in a real pinch point now where a lot of the skills could be lost forever with people retiring.
“This Academy – with more than £1m invested in a GF AgieCharmilles and Mitsubishi wire EDM machines, CNC machines, grinders and ZwickRoell material testing equipment and Hexagon scanning arm - will begin to address this issue, as well as giving us additional toolroom capacity to produce commercial tools that will help us grow.”
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