The UK’s first advanced training academy embedded in a world-class toolroom
Addressing the skilled toolmaker shortage with a one-of-a-kind precision tooling academy. Over £1m has been invested by In-Comm and Brandauer to create a commercial toolroom in the training provider’s facility in Aldridge, which will produce complex tooling, as well as acting as a professional training ground for the toolmakers and designers of the future.
This is a great opportunity to see first-hand an example of ‘levelling up’ in action and how employer-led training is upskilling the UK’s workforce in order to solve the productivity gap that industry has faced for decades.
What’s on offer at the tooling academy?
The new initiative will offer a holistic approach to the professional courses available, which are the Toolmaking Course and a Tool Process Design Engineer Level 6 Standard.
The toolmaking programme features 12 different units, ranging from manufacturing process, costing and strip layout to understanding the bill of materials, using a wire EDM machine, part validation and problem solving to ensure the tools work when they are built.
Apprenticeships will also be offered in the form of a Level 6 in Tool Process Design, an advanced course that has been shaped in partnership with the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM).
The latter will be a crucial ambassador and the End Point Assessment Centre for the qualification, which covers CAD training, blanking/form tools, simulation, SMED and lean and APQP/PPAP quality certifications. Read more about the tooling academy initiative here.
