New £4m college to train 'engineers of the future'

A new £4m training facility for over 16s has opened in the West of England in a bid to develop the next generation of engineers and manufacturing professionals.

The Advanced Manufacturing Technical Excellence College (Amtec) opened on Monday with almost 800 apprentices signed up.

Based in Filton, near Bristol, it will allow them to learn alongside aerospace and engineering firms, including Airbus, GKN, Rolls-Royce and BAE.

"We have some of the world's leading aerospace and engineering companies right on our doorstep," said Janet Stevens, deputy chief executive of Weston College Group, which run Amtec.

She added: "So we really have the responsibility to help develop the workforce they need for the future."

Apprentices will learn an employer-led curriculum and work in close collaboration with major firms.

Andy Smith, the vice principal of Amtec, said: "By working closely with employers, we will ensure our apprentices develop the skills and experience needed to thrive in their careers."

Holly Lewis is an apprentice with GKN, doing her learning at Amtec, and hopes to eventually find work in the aerospace industry.

"I was always interested in the way things are made," she said.

"Currently I'm fitting and doing wing assembly, so hopefully I can transfer skills and eventually work on live aircraft, which is a big goal of mine."

John Shawcroft, a Rolls-Royce apprentice, said he was excited for the opportunity after working at a chocolate factory for the past three years.

"I was really enjoying the little bit of machine maintenance that I got to do there," he said. "So I started looking at apprenticeships.

"It's a super interesting area and it's exciting going back to learning, and the facilities here really blew me away."

Amtec is one of four new college campuses of its kind opening across the country, and aims to boost post-16 qualifications across the West of England.

The opening of the Filton facility follows Weston College Group's designation as one of the country's Technical Excellence Colleges, enabling additional investment in training for high-demand sectors.

"This is not only a significant milestone for Weston College Group, but also for the wider region," Smith added.

It forms wider plans to ramp up the number of young people gaining practical and specialist qualifications in engineering, technical and manufacturing fields across the country.

Others educational colleges to open similar facilities include City of Wolverhampton College, Newcastle & Stafford Colleges Group and New College Durham.

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