More Adult Learners Set to Benefit from New Technical Skills at Lincolnshire Institute of Technology

Adult learners are to benefit from free courses at the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology (IoT) that will help them to rapidly upskill or retrain, and in turn plug local skills gaps.

The University of Lincoln, UK, led a collaborative bid in 2019 with regional employers and colleges to establish an Institute in Lincolnshire, boosting access to more high-quality training alternatives and specialising in agri-tech, food manufacturing, energy, digital and engineering.

Now 65 short and modular courses will start to roll out from later this month at 10 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, including Lincolnshire IOT, in sought-after STEM subjects. This will include courses such as Artificial Intelligence, Digitisation of Manufacturing, Digital Construction, Agricultural Robotics, and Cyber Security.

The courses will be a blend of classroom and remote online study and will vary in length from 50 to 138 hours – giving more adults greater flexibility in how and when they learn, so they can fit it around their day to day lives.

The programmes will be available to adults aged 19 and over, with priority given to those employed locally to the IoT, in related industries such as digital or healthcare. The Lincolnshire IoT has worked in partnership with local employers to ensure courses address existing skills gaps, meaning employees from both large and SME businesses will be able to gain in demand new skills or retrain – so they can progress on to higher skilled, higher paid jobs in the region.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Michelle Donelan, said: “Making sure more people can train and develop at any stage of their life to secure high skilled, high paid jobs is at the heart of our plans.

“These fantastic new courses will open up more training alternatives for adults, address skills gaps in our economy and level up opportunities across the country.

“We are also investing up to Ł18 million to support over 100 further and higher education providers to expand the higher technical training on offer to their local communities.”

Julian Free, Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln, said: “The Lincolnshire Institute of Technology will help to provide employers in the region with the skills that they need to succeed, now and in the future.

“We offer students of all ages an excellent technical education, developing the talent and skills to drive exciting new age industries and play a role in enabling a dynamic, technology driven economy. By doing so, we hope to enable employers to develop and retain local talent, reducing the need to recruit from outside of the region.

“We are excited to offer a path of continuous lifelong learning, inspiring and raising the aspirations of learners, increasing social mobility, and enable our students to secure jobs and follow progression pathways that have been mapped out in collaboration with employers.”

The Government’s network of Institutes of Technology are collaborations between leading employers, further education colleges and universities that specialise in delivering high-quality Higher Technical Education and training in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, such as digital, advanced manufacturing and engineering, providing employers with the skilled workforce they need.