Renishaw Productivity Centre
Renishaw pioneers skills development initiative with WMMMC and Coventry University The nationwide shortage of skilled engineers has long been recognised as a constraint on UK industry. The challenge posed by globalisation to UK manufacturers is to develop robust, automated, productive processes, which demand manufacturing engineering skills that are in increasingly short supply. Renishaw is announcing a nationwide education initiative, which will be launched at the West Midlands Manufacturing Measurement Centre (WMMMC) based within Coventry University in Spring 2008. At its state-of-the-art machining facility at Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, Renishaw demonstrates that it is possible to manufacture successfully in the UK if the right technologies and techniques are employed.
The company has distilled its approach into a 2-day course, developed with the assistance of WMMMC staff, which is aimed at manufacturing engineers in companies of any size, from SMEs right up to aerospace OEMs.
The WMMMC will be the first of a network of Renishaw Productivity Centres, each equipped with contemporary machine tools and Renishaw metrology equipment, as well as education facilities. Many local SMEs may qualify for regional funding to cover some of their costs. In the case of the WMMMC, support may be available through the Manufacturing Advisory Service - West Midlands.
Over the next few months, Renishaw plans to establish similar Centres in other regions, forging relationships with local funding bodies to ensure that SMEs throughout the country have access to contemporary manufacturing engineering education.