The Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills is a flagship training facility for the Black Country.

In response to gaps in skills and provision highlighted by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, the Elite Centre will deliver specialist apprenticeships and short courses as part of a collaboration between six major organisations.

A specialist skills solution

Following extensive consultation with businesses across the region, certain skills shortages were identified as current barriers to growth by the Black Country Skills Factory.

To provide an innovative solution to the high value manufacturing training needs of the sector (both regionally and nationally), the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills will provide specialist training in:

  • Toolmaking
  • Foundry
  • Patternmaking
  • Metalforming
  • Advanced Computer Numerical Control
  • Manufacturing Management, Leadership and Project Management.

 

Training has been designed by employers to meet industry needs by covering qualifications from Level 2 through to Level 6, and building on the strong foundations of the successful Skills Factory training established in the Black Country since 2013.

Growing the region’s economy

Regional partners, including the University of Wolverhampton, trade associations, Dudley College and Black Country LEP, are working together on the development of the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills, investing over £12 million in total to drive the Black Country's economic prosperity forward.

The Elite Centre's hub will be based at the University of Wolverhampton's new Springfield Campus, a multi-million pound development regenerating a brownfield site into a national centre of excellence for construction and the built environment.

The 'hub and spoke' model will see equipment and facilities being installed across four sites, ensuring comprehensive cover across the Black Country to efficiently upskill the region’s workforce.