Degree Apprenticeship Centre will hone engineering excellence

A new Degree Apprenticeship Centre focusing on engineering is to be built at the University of Warwick after receiving government funding.

The Warwick Manufacturing Group Degree Apprenticeship Centre will deliver courses essential to the effective development of advanced engineering and manufacturing companies.

The Centre, due to open in 2019, is being funded by £10 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP).

The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre will provide training programmes up to Level 7 (Master’s Degree level) with an initial capacity for 500 students, scaling to 1,000 students on roll at any one time. The apprentices, who will be employed by companies throughout Coventry and Warwickshire, will undertake their academic studies at the Centre, which will be on the university campus.

Work will start this year on building the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre which will provide flexible teaching and lab space and an environment for technology-enhanced learning as well as advice and support for apprentices and organisations.

The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre will be the first part of a future Degree Apprenticeship complex on the Warwick campus, designed to train students in a range of Degree Apprenticeships

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG, said: “Building on nearly four decades track record of developing and delivering pioneering education programmes, our new Degree Apprenticeship Centre will provide a variety of routes to achieve degree level apprenticeships.

"Young people are our future and we need to provide them with as many opportunities as possible to support our manufacturing base. The Centre will give opportunities for school leavers and apprentices who are looking to progress from Level 4 and 5 qualifications to degree level.”

Jonathan Browning, chair of the CWLEP, said the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre will create a dedicated space designed to support a new range of degrees.

He said: “The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre represents a significant investment in the delivery of higher-level skills to businesses and will focus on the High Value Manufacturing sector in Coventry and Warwickshire as well as meeting the needs of industry and the Government’s skills and industrial strategies.

“Equipping businesses with the skilled workforces they need for the future is vital to our economy and this new Centre will support businesses particularly in the manufacturing sector throughout Coventry and Warwickshire.”