MANUFACTURERS from across the north are set to collaborate in a bid to boost skills in the sector.
The Northern Ireland Polymers Association (NIPA) will work with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) for the first time.
The two sectors with their complementary and transferable skill sets intend to learn from each other’s strengths, something which has not been attempted before.
The project will bring together a total of 24 employers from both sectors to form three separate working groups.
These will work on ways to up-skilling staff in key areas of innovation and commercial exploitation.
The programme has been developed and part funded by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
CITB NI chief executive Barry Neilson said: “The polymers sector in Northern Ireland is perceived as strong in productivity, export and innovation and these skills tend to be less well developed in construction and construction companies are seen as having strong project and supply chain management skills.
"This project will provide an excellent opportunity for construction sector employers to gain insight into how two compatible yet distinct sectors can collaborate and share best practice to help improve the innovation process, service delivery, competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth. We are looking forward to developing the skills of employers and identifying solutions that are appropriate to both sectors.”
NIPA chairman Hugh Ross added: “We look forward to working with UKCES, CITB NI and the participating companies to address our shared challenges in improving the performance and derived operational and commercial benefits we get from our individual and collective innovation efforts."
The programme is now underway with the first working group involving representatives from small, medium and large construction and polymers companies from across Northern Ireland.
UKCES commissioner Paul McKelvie added: "Innovation is vital for our national prosperity. It has a critical role in productivity and job creation, and nowhere is this more true than the manufacturing sector. It’s vital that we learn how manufacturing firms can optimise their workplaces and processes to take best advantage of their high-skilled, highly productive workers.
"We will watch and learn carefully over the coming months, and we look forward to sharing the learning from these five projects to the manufacturing sector as a whole.”
The UK Futures Programme is a series of learning scheme that target specific emerging or persistent workforce development problems.
This round invited employer-led proposals from businesses and other organisations in the manufacturing sector to run initiatives until summer 2016 that focus on skills to manage the innovation process and exploit innovative products or services for commercial value.
