North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and local authority leaders at the North East Combined Authority are set to approve a landmark skills investment.
The facility will create a new generation of skilled local workers in electric vehicle (EV) and battery technology.
MADE NE (Manufacturing, Automation, Digitalisation, Electrification North East), led by Nissan with partners on behalf of the automotive sector, will create world-leading training facilities over two sites within the International Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Site (IAMSS) in Sunderland.
The £14.6 million project, which a report to the Mayor and Cabinet recommends receives support worth £9.7 million from the Combined Authority, will provide open access facilities to industry for skills training in the region’s advanced manufacturing sector, with a particular focus on EV and battery manufacturing.
It will cover skills development from primary school to apprenticeships, to in-work learning and training. The centre also aims to support targeted industrial innovation projects with funding and equipment.
MADE NE is the first project to come forward as part of the region’s Investment Zone: a £160 million, 10-year programme that is expected to create at least 4,000 jobs and secure £3bn of private sector investment.
MADE NE aims to be self-sustaining in five years, generating revenue linked with the delivery of apprenticeships, sub-letting space to businesses aligned with the goals of the project and by making Nissan’s training commercially available so that others can benefit. The plan has been developed in partnership by Nissan with the Combined Authority, Sunderland City Council, Education Partnership North East (EPNE), New College Durham, AESC, Vantec, Newcastle University, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and the North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA).
Source: Nissan UK
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