02 Feb Stansted Airport secure £3.5m funding for Skills centre
A new Technical and Professional Skills Centre at London Stansted Airport today secured £3.5million of funding following Government confirmation of the latest investment into the South East LEP Local Growth Fund.
The application, made by Harlow College and supported by Essex County Council, proposes to develop and deliver a skills centre at the airport to meet skills gap in aircraft engineering, bridging the gap in technical skills between level 3 and 5 and match growing skills need of the airport and wider area.
The South East LEP has three key priorities for skills:
Improve the talent pool in support of priority sectors, particularly higher level skills
Increase participation of young people in work, education and training, with focus on supporting priority sectors and skills gaps
Improve the basic skill levels and employability of our residents to boost productivity and employment
Commenting on the award, Stansted Airport CEO, Andrew Cowan, said:
“Securing, developing and retaining the right talent and skills at a growing airport like Stansted is critical to our business, our 200 on-site business partners and the long term prosperity of our region.
“Over the last two years we have worked in close partnership with the South East LEP, Harlow College and Essex County Council to develop and deliver an on-site further education facility which will help to address the growing skills gap in areas like engineering, logistics and customer service and develop a pipeline of employees fit for future growth at the airport.
“With the Government rightly focused on delivering a modern industrial strategy we are delighted SELEP has seized the opportunity and recognised the potential of a technical and professional skills centre at Stansted. We will all now play our part in making this facility a beacon of skills and talent in the East of England.”
