UK NEWS

Sheffield Forgemasters signs training deal

Sheffield Forgemasters has agreed a four-year engineering training contract with the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre. The package will support the professional and personal development of Sheffield Forgemasters’ apprentices and includes placement of a permanent engineering skills coach at the company’s site to deliver advanced machining methods for trainee engineers.

Adopting a bespoke model to train and upskill employees, the AMRC Training Centre will support the workforce as it makes the shift from traditional engineering to state-of-the-art machining facilities, currently under construction. Sheffield Forgemasters has worked with the AMRC Training Centre to identify the specific skills that its workforce will need to maximise efficiency from its 30,000 m² machining facility.

More information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

Solving the Skills Crisis

New research from MTC has revealed the huge untapped potential of generational diversity in tackling the sector’s 47,000-person skills gap – but employers are missing the opportunity to harness cross-generation learning to support business and economic growth. The research shows that 41% of the Baby Boomer generation (aged 60 to 66) in manufacturing say their skills are going unused. Meanwhile, 91% of Gen Z (18-27) say they are willing to learn from older colleagues. It points to an opportunity for industry to embrace cross-generational learning and unlock existing knowledge before decades of experience retire.

More information www.the-mtc.org

First year of pioneering workplace programme

Siemens Mobility and its partners are celebrating the success of the first year of a pioneering programme supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities to enter the world of work. The supported internship programme has seen five young people benefit from extensive support and guidance to gain experience, confidence and vital life skills from a variety of roles at Siemens Mobility’s Goole Rail Village. The initiative is a partnership between Siemens Mobility, learning disability charity DFN Project SEARCH, Selby College and Hft – a national charity supporting learning-disabled people.

More information www.mobility.siemens.com

WH Davis to expand workforce by 25%

WH Davis, the UK’s sole remaining independent railway wagon manufacturer – and part of Buckland Rail – has secured a €44m export deal to supply 150 freight wagons to Ireland with support from the UK’s export credit agency. The contract represents the first order under a 10-year framework agreement that could see the number of wagons supplied rise to 400. Deliveries are expected to start in summer 2026.

The contract is expected to facilitate a significant expansion of the company’s workforce by 25%, taking the total number of employees on site to 100. The jobs will be located at WH Davis’s manufacturing site in Shirebrook, an ex-mining village in the East Midlands, helping to revitalise employment in the area. 

More information www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Hurco to hold ‘Demo Deals Day’ in October

Inaugurated in 2023, a ‘Demo Deals Day’ will be hosted by Hurco Europe on 2 October 2025 at the company’s showroom and demonstration centre in High Wycombe. Every machine on show will be available to purchase at a discounted ex-demonstration price. Furthermore, a 20% discount will apply to some new ex-stock models, including the high-capacity, high-torque, three-axis VMX50Ti vertical machining centre.

New this year is that similar offers will apply to Hurco machines installed in the dedicated training facility and technical centre at Kirklees College, Huddersfield, with which the machine tool company collaborates. Furthermore, the scope of the offers extends to accessories fitted to the machines, such as Hurco software and tooling, Renishaw probing, rotary tables, and Filtermist units.

More information www.hurco.com