By Ian McConnell
THIRTY recent graduates from across Scotland are to be offered the chance to work with engineers and researchers as part of a scheme aimed at helping people affected by the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic to secure employment.
The taxpayer-backed National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), operated by the University of Strathclyde and located in Renfrewshire, said it would be making the offer to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates.
Participants will be provided with on-the-job training and the “opportunity to build in-demand skills relevant to the worlds of digital and advanced manufacturing and engineering”, over a six-month period, under a programme developed by the NMIS Manufacturing Skills Academy.
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The academy has been awarded £1.45 million from the Scottish Government’s National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) and is developing a series of virtual training opportunities to run alongside the graduate scheme. NMIS said: “The training will focus on the in-demand skills sought by employers in growth areas of the economy such as digital and net-zero.”
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John Reid, chief executive of NMIS, said: “Through the graduate training scheme and working with colleagues in industry, the University of Strathclyde and other academic institutions, our Manufacturing Skills Academy is set to provide those who are dealing with or facing redundancy, or who are struggling to gain employment following graduation, in the hardest-hit manufacturing industries, such as aviation and oil and gas, with meaningful training, which will help bolster CVs and hopefully lead to employment opportunities in growth areas of the economy.”
NMIS said it was, “to bolster the programme”, also collaborating with small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses across Scotland, giving some of the graduates the opportunity to work and learn with potential employers.
Scottish Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It’s great to see initiatives like the NMIS Manufacturing Skills Academy giving graduates who have struggled to find work due to the pandemic the opportunity to benefit from on-the job-training. This investment from the National Transition Training Fund, which is helping up to 10,000 people across Scotland, will contribute to the recovery of the manufacturing sector and support a pipeline of skilled talent for the future.”
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal of the University of Strathclyde, said: “Strathclyde prides itself on producing graduates with the skills, knowledge and experience that employers are looking for.
“This new training scheme will help to give recent graduates from across Scotland the opportunity to apply their knowledge, gain valuable experience and fulfil their potential.
He added: “It is an excellent example of how NMIS is helping to strengthen the engineering and manufacturing sector in Scotland and across the UK and comes at a time when skilled individuals will be especially required to help support Scotland’s economic recovery from Covid-19.”
NMIS is a group of industry-led manufacturing research and development facilities in which industry, academia and the public sector work together.
It is supported by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and Renfrewshire Council.
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