Edwin James Group improving its workforce through their Digital Academy. The academy is the third purpose-built training centre established by the group
The skills gap is recognised as a significant challenge for many industries. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, 50% of all employees will require reskilling due to the increasing adoption of technology.
Located at the internationally renowned Sci-Tech science and technology campus in Daresbury, the Digital Academy sits within the headquarters of the group’s subsidiary, EJ Peak Technology Solutions.
The Digital Academy has state-of-the-art facilities
The purpose of the programme is to invest in apprenticeships and the training of current staff in contemporary industrial technologies. The academy is equipped with state-of-the-art software and infrastructure, allowing both staff and clients to gain hands-on experience and test environments before using them onsite.
The courses offered at the academy include a wide range of subjects, such as specialised training in Siemens and Rockwell PLC control equipment, cybersecurity, asset performance management, and concepts related to Industry 4.0. Several courses are already underway, including the ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Fundamentals Specialist certificate program.
Edwin James had already provided over 85,000 hours of training in the past year.
Investing to reduce the skills shortage
“The skills shortage is a challenge that affects the whole industry and, without serious investment, will prove a brake on growth. Finding and retaining the right people is key to our future success, and developing talent from within is something we take very seriously,” commented Christopher Kehoe, chief executive at Edwin James Group.
“Our Digital Academy will tackle the challenge by bridging the skills gap, delivering targeted industrial automation to a wider engineering audience. It allows Edwin James to recruit talent from diverse engineering backgrounds and augment their industrial digital skillset, adding further capacity to deliver transformational projects for our customers,” he added.
The new tech training hub is an expansion of the group-wide EJ Academy Programme, offering learning opportunities from apprentice to the boardroom level.
