The National Manufacturing Skills Academy, the creation of which was a Labour manifesto pledge in last year’s general election, is understood to be close to having its business plan approved by the Learning and Skills Council, the quango that oversees government training budgets.
Officials are now hopeful of a ministerial launch for the academy next month. The academy will take over the activities of the existing Automotive Academy, which has received widespread praise for improving standards in the car industry.
It will cover training in most traditional manufacturing sectors, including the automotive, aerospace, marine, metals and electrical industries.
Like the Automotive Academy, the new body will be charged with ensuring that training programmes are “globally competitive”.
It will not undertake training itself, but will concentrate on developing the existing network of private training companies and state providers. It will also have a crucial role in testing and approving teachers and assessors.
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The new academy is likely to have its headquarters in the West Midlands, and plans to be self-financing within five years.
Several top British industrial groups have thrown their weight behind the academy, which was unveiled in April by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the then trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, as a key part of Labour’s policy for business.
Allan Cook, chief executive of the aerospace group Cobham, is chairman of the academy’s steering committee, which also includes representatives from Corus, Ford, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.