Tuesday, September 10, 2013

News: UTC Sheffield opens for business

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Sheffield City Region's new £8.5m University Technical College (UTC) opened to students this week, helping to shape the future workforce for two of the region's key sectors - advanced engineering and manufacturing, and creative and digital media.

The college, based on Sheffield Council's Porter Brook Site in Sheffield city centre, is the first UTC in Yorkshire and one of only 18 across the UK and will eventually have a capacity for 600 students aged 14 to 19.

The UTC is sponsored by The Sheffield College with Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce but it is effectively led by employers from the relevant sectors within the city region. The UTC Steering Group includes representatives from The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, Newburgh Engineering and Firth Rixson.

The student experience at the UTC is dominated by employer-led projects and supporters include AESSEAL, Darron Tools, Rolls-Royce and Tata Steel.

Andrew Cropley, Chair of Sheffield UTC Academy Trust Board, said: "The UTC is the most radical new education offer in the Sheffield City Region for a generation. It provides a unique opportunity for young people to benefit from extensive collaboration between employers, universities, colleges and schools to gain a rounded educational experience preparing them for a wide range of future careers."

Performance Engineered Solutions (PES) Ltd, a high performance engineering design business based on Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham is backing the new UTC. Dan Fleetcroft, design director at PES Ltd, said: "We believe that the UTC will provide a much more hands-on approach to engineering, where students will learn both the skills and how to apply them in real world situations. Students like this will help make a massive difference to our business.

"We will be working with the UTC by discussing design engineering with the students and also setting them a number of engineering design projects during the year."

PES is a team of design and performance engineers, and technologists with extensive experience in many industry sectors including; Formula One, motorsport, Olympic sport, aerospace, medical technology and renewable energy technologies.

Looking ahead, Dan added: "We're looking to bring on young engineers and to develop them within the company but we'll also require the higher level knowledge-based skills that universities will provide. We anticipate taking on a mix of students coming through places like the UTC as well as graduate engineers from university.

"With prospects for engineering in the UK looking strong for the foreseeable future the UTC Sheffield is set to play a key role in providing the future workforce to help drive forward the region's advanced manufacturing economy."

UTC Sheffield website
PES Ltd website

Images: UTC Sheffield / Wates Construction

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