Industry Collaboration at its Best: E3 Recruitment Joins Forces with Process Manufacturing Centre to Shape the Future of Apprentice Training
E3 Recruitment takes immense pride in its partnership with the cutting-edge Process Manufacturing Centre (PMC), a specialised training facility catering to the process manufacturing industries. Situated adjacent to Kirklees College‘s Engineering Centre in Huddersfield, the PMC represents a remarkable employer-driven initiative aimed at fulfilling the training requirements of diverse process manufacturing sectors, including food production, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Through generous funding, sponsorship, and equipment donations from both local and global companies, these industries have rallied together to support this groundbreaking project. The donated equipment, often refurbished by skilled engineering apprentices, adds to the PMC’s state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Tracie Norton, Director of E3 Recruitment and a valued member of the Steering Group for YCF, a crucial project partner, was introduced to the PMC through YCF’s involvement since its inception. Tracie has wholeheartedly embraced this initiative, actively assisting the PMC team in expanding their network, particularly within the food and drink sector. E3 Recruitment plays a pivotal role in supporting the PMC with its comprehensive recruitment needs.
The construction of the Process Manufacturing Centre building is well underway and is scheduled for completion in May. Simultaneously, the installation of a fully operational process manufacturing batch plant, equipped with an advanced control system, is already in progress. The project is on track to be finished by mid-July, just in time for the first cohort of apprentices, who are slated to commence their training in September. These apprentices will have the advantage of utilising the adjoining packaging area, along with the abundant learning resources, classrooms, and training facilities available within the PMC.
Brian Lawson, the Head of Process Manufacturing at the PMC, underscores the immense significance of this centre. He explains, “The Process Manufacturing Centre will serve as a fully qualified operational plant, elevating the training experience for apprentices by exposing them to real-life scenarios. Since the centre is driven by employers, the processes and procedures implemented here will be widely acknowledged as best practices within the process industry. Real-world case studies tailored to specific sectors will be utilised to enhance the learning process. Additionally, the centre will serve as a prominent networking hub for the process industry, hosting regional engineering meetings for global corporations and facilitating various networking events for process industry organisations.”
In 2011, a Skills Committee comprised of industry experts, including Nigel Wright from Syngenta and Jill Mooney from YCF (both esteemed partners of E3 Recruitment), conducted focus groups and identified industry dissatisfaction with the quality of apprentices. Consequently, a collaborative project group was established in 2012, featuring key stakeholders such as Syngenta, YCF, Nufarm UK Limited, and Kirklees College. In August 2014, Kirklees College submitted a funding bid for £3.5 million in capital funding to the local enterprise partnership, bolstering their initial investment of £1 million. The funding was officially confirmed in December 2014, marking the commencement of the project in January 2015. The remaining funding relies on industry support, with over £550k already raised and an additional £250k still needed to fully realise the vision of the PMC.
Brian concludes with an expression of genuine enthusiasm emanating from the industry regarding this transformative project. Companies spanning various process manufacturing sectors have united in their commitment to ensure the success of the PMC. This represents just the initial phase of an endeavour that holds great promise, as all partners involved eagerly anticipate witnessing the growth of the PMC and the emergence of a new generation of highly skilled apprentice technicians in the process industries, including food and drink, chemicals, and pharmaceutical.
