The DfE has appointed the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult) to lead a new project addressing future skills gaps in manufacturing and engineering. Working alongside Institutes of Technology – collaborations between employers, universities and colleges – HVM Catapult will develop cutting-edge training content that focuses on new and emerging technologies such as robotics and AI, additive manufacturing, and composite materials. The pilot, which started last month, will run to December 2021, with potential rollout thereafter on a national scale.

For further information
www.hvm.catapult.org.uk

JCB has launched a fresh recruitment drive for hundreds more shop-floor employees and announced plans to give permanent contracts to hundreds more agency employees as demand for construction equipment continues to soar. Last month the company revealed it was hiring over 400 UK shop-floor agency employees and giving permanent JCB contracts (from 1 April) to more than 300 existing agency employees. Now, the company will recruit a further 450 agency shop-floor employees and provide permanent JCB contracts to an additional 400 agency shop-floor employees with more than one year of service.

For further information
www.jcb.com

The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) will be offering 30 recent STEM graduates from across Scotland the chance to work with its engineers and researchers as part of a new scheme aimed at helping those who are struggling to find work due to the economic impact of the pandemic. This new scheme will provide on-the-job training and the opportunity to build in-demand skills. To bolster the programme, NMIS is also collaborating with SME manufacturing businesses across Scotland, giving some of the graduates the opportunity to work and learn with potential employers.

For further information visit www.nmis.scot

Williams Racing has struck a new technology and innovation partnership with B&R Industrial Automation, a unit of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business. The agreement will see B&R Industrial Automation embed its PLC hardware and I/O modules in the wind tunnel facilities at the team’s base in Grove, Oxfordshire. Controlled by B&R Industrial Automation’s APROL edge controller, the enhancements will measure and record the energy consumption of wind tunnel infrastructure.

For further information
www.williamsf1.com

Martin Hawkins is now the deputy managing director of Bowers Group. Working closely alongside the current managing director Steve White, Hawkins will begin a transitional period before White steps down from his full-time duties in May 2021. Hawkins joined Bowers Group in 2016 as UK sales manager before taking up the position of UK sales director in 2019. He brings with him a wealth of experience and success within Bowers Group, as well as vast product knowledge and existing relationships as part of the company’s senior management team.

For further information
www.bowersgroup.co.uk