The City of Liverpool College tackles skills gap with new partnership

The City of Liverpool College has partnered with Liverpool based robotics and automation specialist CNC Robotics Ltd, to deliver a Level 3 qualification in robotics and automation, helping to bridge the ever-increasing skills gap in advanced manufacturing, as identified by Liverpool Combined Authority’s skills for growth report.

The partnership comes as a direct response to the rise of automation resulting in traditional manufacturers digitising their processes. Rather than replacing people with machines resulting in unemployment, this new course will allow employers to upskill their existing workforce to meet the ever-changing demands of the industry, in many cases creating new, highly skilled roles.

Starting in October, this course marks only the second of its kind in the country and allows employers to identify and plug specific skills shortages in their existing teams.

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Elaine Bowker, principal at The City of Liverpool College, said:

“The rise of automation has moved at a faster pace than ever anticipated, and businesses need to keep up. As a result, it’s our responsibility to ensure that we are developing the talent pipeline that these employers need to help them grow. It’s through partnerships such as this that we can deliver innovative and relevant courses to our students, allowing them to secure well-paid jobs with longevity.

“This unique partnership has been 12 months in the making and will allow us to combine our quality teaching with CNC Robotics’ advanced technology, providing students with the best possible learning and employers with the best possible staff to meet their needs.”

Through this eight-week course, learners will receive a Level 3 qualification in robotics and automation. The flexible course will allow learners to choose units of the qualification that work for them or complete the full qualification.

Madina Barker, director at CNC Robotics, added:

“Robotic technology is significantly and positively changing the way we work and live, the future success across all industries will be defined by the ability of UK firms to adapt their infrastructure and exploit related technologies. Each new wave of technology brings fears of job losses and often there is a reluctance to embrace change, yet there is no evidence of technology being detrimental to overall employment levels, indeed history shows that technological change creates jobs rather than destroying them.

“As world population grows the demand for more products will continue, manufacturers will need to produce more but to do so more efficiently. Therefore, each new generation will see more and more demand for skilled jobs to support automated systems – the greatest threat to employment is not automation but an inability to have skilled staff in order to remain competitive.

“We are excited to partner with The City of Liverpool college to train the next generation of robotic and automation engineers to drive productivity and jobs across the UK’s manufacturing base. Up-skilling the UK workforce has never been more important to give manufacturing a competitive edge as we compete in an ever-global market”.

To find out more about the course at The City of Liverpool College, contact asktheteam@liv-coll.ac.uk.

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