Lincoln College Group (LCG) CEO Gary Headland was joined by West Lindsey District Council Chairman Pat Mewis to open the Made in Gainsborough (MiG) centre at Gainsborough College.
The new facility is the focal point of a unique collaboration between local manufacturing firms and the College, aiming to train local apprentices for successful careers in the industry.
AMP Rose, Eminox, Wefco, Regal, Trepko, Clean Tech, A Schulman and Hooton Engineering are all partners with the College at the MiG Centre of Excellence.
Jaded with competing over the same talent pool and losing staff to engineering giants having invested heavily in their development, they decided to work together and approach Gainsborough College to find a solution.
And now the first 20 apprentices have enrolled on their two-year programme that will lead to secure and lucrative careers with these firms.
Student Harry Comte said: “I went for the apprenticeship as part of the MiG programme as I wanted a career, not just a job.
“The best thing about it has been the benefits of working for an employer, like earning money while I learn my skills – plus it’s been good to be out in the real working world.
“I’ve worked in engineering before, but I wanted to make a career out of it and being a part of MiG has been great – just knowing I have a guaranteed job at the end of it is the best feeling.”
Wefco Operations Manager Paul Cook said “We identified a lack of training and skilled engineers in the town, so we came together with other local employers to try and solve this issue.
“The College along with West Lindsey District Council has allowed this to happen – these students are the pioneers of the MiG scheme.”
LCG CEO Gary Headland said: “Made in Gainsborough is a great demonstration of our mission; to be employer-led, producing a highly skilled and productive local workforce. It shows what can be achieved when businesses work together with training providers like ourselves.
“Together we have developed a new apprenticeship programme that will directly address the needs of our employer partners and lead to successful careers for local people.
“I’d like to thank our partner employers, West Lindsey District Council and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership fortheir collaboration on this project.
“We are confident that this programme will continue to grow and add recognised economic and social value to communities in the West Lindsey area.”
If you’re interested in our Made in Gainsborough training programme you can email enquiries@lincolnccollege.ac.uk or call 030 030 32435.
