ECITB supports robotics training in Cumbria

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board has awarded £250,000 in funding to the Cumbria Robotics Operations Skills Centre (CROSS), opening later this year, to build skills in robotics for the nuclear and clean energy sector.

Plans for the centre of excellence were first announced in April, with the collaborative venture involving the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), National College for Nuclear and Clean Energy (NCfN&CE), the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration (RAICo), Sellafield Ltd and its supply chain, and Lakes College.

The project has already secured £1m in funding from UKAEA through the FOSTER programme, including providing state-of-the-art equipment to equip the CROSS facility.

The extra funding from the ECITB, which comes from the industry-led skills body’s investment in Regional Skills Hubs, will support the delivery of the hub, such as developing the curriculum, short bite-sized courses and teaching resources and the expansion of technical and sector-relevant content beyond the centre’s initial focus on the nuclear sector.

ECITB Chief Executive Andrew Hockey said: “The ECITB is delighted to support this innovative project in Cumbria from our Regional Skills Hub funding, which targets capacity-building projects like this in the UK’s industrial heartlands."

ECITB supports robotics training in Cumbria