Minister’s praise for action to train future engineers

Mr Hancock visited the “engineers of the future” at the University of Sheffield AMRC and found out about plans for the AMRC Training Centre.

Mr Hancock said yesterday: “The excitement from apprentices at the AMRC was obvious. There are exciting things going on at the AMRC that we should shout about and celebrate.”

The minister met the AMRC’s training director Alison Bettac, who told him how the centre will equip the region’s young people with the skills needed for jobs in the manufacturing sector.

The AMRC Training Centre, which will provide hundreds of paid apprenticeships to students as young as 16, was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last month.

Due to be completed in Autumn 2013, the AMRC Training Centre aims to educate the next generation of world leading engineers and technicians. It is part funded by a grant from the Regional Growth Fund and by the University of Sheffield. AMRC is seeking extra funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

Mr Hancock added: “Manufacturing drives growth and strengthens our global competitiveness. It is training centres like the AMRC that are playing a pivotal role in ensuring the workforce is the best it can be.”