New auto sector skills centre gets boss

AN OPERATIONS manager has been appointed to the developing £9.5 million skills centre for the automotive sector at Horiba MIRA.

Lisa Bingley takes up the role at the MIRA Technology Institute (MTI) with immediate effect ready for the launch next September.

A partnership between Horiba MIRA and North Warwickshire and Hinckley College will help satisfy the ever-increasing demand for specialist skills in the motor industry.

Developing talented apprentices right through to qualified engineers, the MTI will bridge the skills gap across the sector with relevant expertise and qualifications, providing students and apprentices with a ‘ladder of opportunity’ up to level 8 (PhD level).

It is expected to become a global centre of excellence, helping to nurture specialist skills in new disruptive technology areas such as electrification and driverless cars, ensuring a sustainable supply of future technical specialists and engineers.

Lisa joins the Government backed institute on a secondment to North Warwickshire and Hinckley College from HORIBA MIRA, where she is currently a programme manager.

While MTI is being constructed Lisa will work to ensure the centre’s training provision delivers the skills required to fulfil the needs of local, national and international automotive and transport development.

She said: “The MIRA Technology Institute will provide an answer to the real skills challenge we have in the automotive industry and I’m thrilled to be a part of its creation. I look forward to working with the project partners to bring the MTI to life and provide a centre of excellence for the development of automotive skills.”

The project offers a unique solution aligned with the Government’s new Industrial Strategy by creating a technology institute focused on vehicle design and manufacturing.

It is being financed with £9.5 million from the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP Growth Deal Fund and is backed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Collaborative partners include Coventry University, Loughborough University and the University of Leicester.