Hartlepool College boost for food manufacturing training

14-May-2012 - Last updated on 15-May-2012 at 15:37 GMT

Hartlepool College will boost food and drink manufacturing training in the north east

Food manufacturing training and educational courses in the north east of England will be improved significantly by the addition of Hartlepool College of Further Education to the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSA), says its director, Justine Fosh.

“The skills development facilities at Hartlepool are excellent. They will be a valuable addition to our position as the premier source of quality specialist training for all aspects of food and drink manufacturing,” said Fosh.

Assistant principal Andrew Steel said: “Our ability to devise and implement innovative and bespoke training and qualifications for the food and drink industry adds value to the [NSA] and so provides mutual benefit for all involved.”

Skilled engineering

The college’s NSA inclusion reflected the industry’s increasing reliance on high-tech production equipment, which required skilled engineering and technical support, said an NSA spokesman. Hartlepool offers courses in robotics, automation, engineering maintenance, leadership and management.

The spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “It is not very common for a provider of education to specialise in several areas at once. Hartlepool had to go through a rigorous application process in order to be selected for three areas.”

The college moved to a new £53M campus last year. Its facilities, which helped it to achieve NSA membership, include engineering and machine plant workshops as well as labs for robotics and automation; instrumentation; control; and rapid prototyping. They were officially opened by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew in February 2012.

Innovative approach

The college had an innovative approach in dealing with employers’ needs across multiple areas of expertise, he added. “Before offering training, Hartlepool performs an in-depth review to help a manufacturer determine what areas it actually needs to address, rather than those it thinks it needs to address.”

It also knew how to put its strengths and those of its strategic partners to best use, he added. A key partner included lean consultancy firm, Sora Group, which works with food firms such as: Greggs, Warburtons and KP Foods.

Other partners include: SMC International Training, the educational division of global automation firm SMC International and engineering firm, FMC.