In an exciting and significant move to further strengthen the reach and range of high quality training and development services already provided to industry, the four Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) which fall within the ‘footprint’ of the COGENT Sector Skills Council’s employer base, have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthen the existing very good links and take partnership and collaborative working to new levels of excellence.

The four CoVEs operated by The TTE Technical Training Group in Middlesbrough (in partnership with Redcar & Cleveland College), TTE Training Ltd in Ellesmere Port, Polymer Training Ltd in Telford, and GENII Engineering and Technology Training Ltd in West Cumbria represent the three of the four main constituent employment sectors represented by COGENT; chemical process industries, polymer, and nuclear. Already high quality, specialist training providers in their own right, the four organisations have come together to establish a unique partnership of innovative training provision, focussed on delivering employers’ urgent skills needs across the COGENT ‘footprint’

Ray Clarke, Chief Executive of PTL said of the MOU “The four CoVEs already have an impressive track record of working to meet employers’ skills needs. The signing of the MOU will give a significant step forward in supporting COGENT’s objectives, and will underpin the hoped for successful bid to establish two new National Skills Academies (NSAs); one for the process industries including chemical and polymer, and the other for the nuclear industry. It will also help cement greater collaborative working, and enable the transference of best practice in skills development which should benefit a greater range and spread of employers.”

Adding to Ray’s comments, Mike Smith, MD of GENII said “This type of partnership working fits exactly with the Government’s national skills agenda and supports the aims of the Learning and Skills Council. It is almost unprecedented for four organisations such as ours to come together in this way, and is a first within the national CoVE network.”

In the next few weeks and months the partnership will be focussed on supporting COGENT in their bid to secure the two NSAs. In addition it will be looking at initiatives to jointly market products and services, share best practice, and provide greater support to employers in specific skill shortage areas such as management training and development.