5 minute read • published in partnership with Lloyds
MTC Training Tyneside: equipping the North East to realise its industrial ambition
The North East has shifted from heavy industry to high-tech and is increasingly positioning itself at the forefront of the clean energy transition. MTC Training Tyneside is designed to help turn that goal into reality by helping develop the skills and capability manufacturers need to invest, adopt technology and compete globally.
The North East is often described as post-industrial, as though its manufacturing story ended with the decline of shipbuilding, coal mining and steel. The figures tell a very different story.
Advanced manufacturing contributes an estimated £5.5bn to the regional economy annually, more than 10% of total regional GVA, with the sector growing by 32% in the past five years1. More than 550 advanced manufacturing businesses operate across the region, employing nearly 34,000 people and spanning high-value activities including automotive, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and transport1.
Anchored by that strong industrial base are major opportunities in areas such as electrification, battery technologies, offshore wind and hydrogen. The challenge is ensuring businesses have the capability to seize them.
“Manufacturers across the North East are looking for practical ways to stay competitive, attract and retain workers, improve productivity and take advantage of new opportunities now and in the future. All of that starts with having the right skills in place,” says David Grailey, Managing Director at MTC Training.
That is the driver behind MTC Training Tyneside, the new advanced manufacturing training centre at Cobalt Park near Newcastle. The centre provides a dedicated space for high-quality, industry-aligned training programmes, strengthened by the expertise of MTC Training’s established centres in Coventry, Oxfordshire and Liverpool.
Supported by Lloyds, the centre will play a major role in strengthening the region’s manufacturing capability by developing a pipeline of skilled workers and opening high-quality career opportunities for local talent.
MTC Training Tyneside, the new advanced manufacturing training centre located at Cobalt Park near Newcastle / Picture: MTC
Right place, right time
Tyneside wasn’t chosen simply because engineers are in short supply – that’s true almost everywhere. Potential sites across the north of England were assessed against factors including the strength of the industrial base, growth potential, inward and local investment appetite, and existing engineering infrastructure and skills provision. North Tyneside came out on top.
The centre provides Level 3 engineering apprenticeships, including Engineering and Manufacturing Support Technician and Mechatronic Maintenance Technician, alongside NVQs in Engineering Maintenance, Mechanical Maintenance and Engineering Technical Support. It also provides online and face-to-face technical courses covering engineering essentials, additive manufacturing, AI for manufacturing, automation, robotics and apprenticeships.
The aim is not to compete with existing training providers but to enhance them, giving employers another route to develop the technical capability they need, while giving people across the North East local access to industry-aligned training. “We focus on impact,” Grailey says. “The way we deliver that impact is through skills.”
Advanced manufacturing needs advanced skills
A CNC machine may still be recognisable as a piece of manufacturing equipment, but the skills required around it have changed significantly. Automation, robotics, digital systems and increasingly sophisticated production processes are changing both how products are made and the roles required to design, operate and maintain those systems.
This is creating demand for engineers who can work across disciplines, Grailey says. Mechanical and electrical engineering remain vital in their own right, but employers increasingly need people skilled in both.
Grailey recalls one engineering business in Tyneside that had to bring in workers from 40 miles away because it couldn’t find the dual-skilled engineers it needed locally. MTC Training Tyneside gives employers another route to develop those skills closer to home.
To assess its impact, MTC Training looks beyond training numbers to the contribution trained employees make to business performance, productivity and technology adoption, including whether manufacturers take on work they couldn’t previously undertake because they lacked the necessary skills or capability.
For Grailey, that makes training part of the investment equation, rather than simply a response to vacancies. The ability to install, programme and maintain new equipment that increases productivity and revenue, for example, depends on having people who understand how to use it effectively.
Training that fits the factory
For employers, particularly SMEs, however, training can be difficult to reconcile with production pressures. Taking someone away from the workplace for a full day has an immediate operational cost, even when the long-term benefit of upskilling that person is clear.
MTC Training’s upskilling and reskilling courses are designed with that in mind. Training can be delivered online, face-to-face or through blended learning, with programmes tailored around employers’ needs. Trainers – all of whom are engineers with industry experience – can work on an employer’s site, including during twilight shifts, so employees can build skills without losing a full day of production.
Alongside filling today’s vacancies, an aging workforce means manufacturers need to plan ahead. That means understanding how technology will change the skills they need, where those skills will come from and how to develop them, whether through apprenticeships, upskilling people already on the payroll or both. MTC Training offers workforce planning alongside its training provision, helping businesses identify future skills requirements, build a sustainable pipeline and develop the competence frameworks before delivery begins.
Investment that connects
MTC Training Tyneside is made possible through support from Lloyds, extending a 15-year strategic partnership from £15m to more than £18.5m through to the end of 2029. For Grailey, the value of that long-term commitment goes well beyond funding buildings and equipment.
“We couldn’t have done this without the support from Lloyds. What they’ve done is a phenomenal commitment to engineering and manufacturing skills in the UK. It means we can deliver our mission and have a positive impact for manufacturers,” he says.
To date, that impact has translated into support for more than 5,200 apprentices, engineers and graduates across the UK, with the new centre expected to take the figure beyond 6,500 by 2030.
“The opening of MTC Training Tyneside is an important investment in the North East’s long-term economic future, and follows the announcement from Lloyds of £1bn of new finance for businesses across the North East in 2026,” says Martyn Kendrick, Regional Director for Scotland, North East & Yorkshire at Lloyds. “Manufacturing is one of the region’s greatest strengths and realising its growth potential depends on businesses having access to the skills and expertise they need to stay competitive, adopt new technologies and grow with confidence.”
Find out more about MTC’s Apprentice Services at lloydsbank.com/mtc/apprentices