Marshall Aerospace to open second skills academy at Cranfield in Bedfordshire

A new UK skills academy to tackle a chronic shortage of expertise in aerospace engineering is set to open.

Marshall Aerospace, one of the country's leading air and defence firms, said it is facing an existential threat to an unprecedented global technical skills shortage.

The Cambridge-based company, which has announced it is moving to Cranfield in Bedfordshire, says it plans to open its second Skills Academy there next year.

Initially it will take on 200 young people.

The centre will be based close to Cranfield University’s campus.

The announcement came at Marshall Skills Summit at Cranfield University.

The event gathered senior leaders from the aerospace industry, academia and publicsector organisations including representatives from Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, BAE Systems, British Airways, GKN, MBDA and Lockheed Martin, who all committed to playing a part in developing a sustainable future talent pipeline.

Marshall CEO Kathy Jenkins explains: “Whilst we all recognised there is no quick fix to our skills challenge, we are all in complete agreement that we can do much more to make progress together.

“As the training arm of a business that has prepared well over 20,000 young people for technical careers over more than a century, Marshall Skills Academy is uniquely positioned to understand and respond to the problems facing the sector, but we certainly would not be taking this step without the support and collaboration of the wider industry.”

In addition to its traditional apprenticeships offering, Marshall is also proposing that the new facility be home to one of the UK’s first University Technical College (UTC) “Sleeves,” a technical educational pathway which offers first-hand experience of engineering skills, delivered within an aerospace workshop, to secondary school pupils interested in careers in aviation or engineering from the age of 14 upwards.

Professor Karen Holford, Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University,welcomed the announcement, saying: “The relocation of Marshall Aerospace’s UK headquarters to Cranfield also provides an exciting and unrivalled opportunity for collaboration and skills development.

" As the UK’s only specialist postgraduate university and with a proud history in aviation innovation, we are looking forward to sharing our deep expertise in aerospace with learners at every level.

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