Ensuring Tayside has the engineering skills to benefit from an upswing in the manufacturing industry must be a priority of any Tay Cities Deal, it has been claimed.
The Tay Cities Engineering Partnership has said funding from the Tay Cities Deal, if approved, would transform training opportunities for engineers in Tayside.
It is seeking funding to create a 6,000 square metre basic engineering shop space at D&A College premises in Arbroath, and improve access to science and technology subjects in school and at college.
The organisation’s ambitious proposals also include better training opportunities for staff and an expansion of Angus Training Group’s facilities.
A survey has now been sent out to engineering firms across Tayside and Fife which the TCEP hopes will gather evidence to show the benefits of receiving financial support in any Tay Cities Deal.
Ross Milne, director of Forfar-based company RAM Engineering and Tooling Ltd who is on the board of TCEP, said: “We need to maximise the survey’s potential by highlighting the importance of this project and the fact that Tay Cities Deal funding is pivotal to its success.
“All of the stakeholders are cooperating for the good of the Tayside engineering community and indeed the wider Scottish and national engineering community for the future of our industry.
This is no mean feat as each organisation has a job to do, so considering each others’ organisations and strengths for the good of the bigger picture is not always the highest priority, but it is being achieved currently.
“The success of the TCD funding application for this project would certainly bolster this relationship, ensure the support network and help close the skills gaps ahead of the anticipated and much-needed growth of the manufacturing sector.”
The TCEP is a combination of organisations in Tayside working to improve the quality and breadth of engineering training across the region through promoting a successful City Deal funding bid.
The survey can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/P5JMDM7
Councils in Tayside and Fife are seeking nearly £2 billion of funding from the UK and Scottish Government to implement the Tay Cities Deal.
It successful, it would pay for 56 separate projects and create around 15,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.
Other plans include turning Dundee into a centre for oil and gas decommissioning work, and progress down to improving transport links to make finding work easier for job hunters.
