Irish Manufacturing Research will work with a recently established training hub to help manufacturing companies upskill workforces and keep up with evolving tech.
A partnership between two of Ireland’s leading manufacturing research and training groups aims to get Irish workers and companies ready for industry 4.0.
The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence (AMTCE) in Dundalk and Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) in Mullingar have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost the development of a national workforce skilled in advanced manufacturing.
IMR is the largest manufacturing research and technology organisation in Ireland, with facilities in Dublin and Mullingar. It works with Irish and international companies to research new and emerging technologies, and aims to enable manufacturers of all sizes and across all sectors to be leaders in advanced manufacturing.
AMTCE opened last year to provide skills training, apprenticeships and Level 5 and 6 courses in robotic processes, cobotics, additive manufacturing, industrial internet of things, computer-aided design and manufacturing, industrial control, cybersecurity, process optimisation, biopharma, food processing and more. It is part of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board.
The agreement will see the two bodies provide technical and training resources to manufacturing businesses, to ensure Ireland becomes a leader in the fourth industrial revolution. It will also drive collaboration in relation to exploring national, regional and European funding opportunities.
Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy, TD, welcomed the agreement.
“With this MOU, AMTCE and IMR will be able to provide both technical and training resources to support companies as they adopt and deploy digital technologies within their operations,” Troy said.
“This will be extremely beneficial to companies as their workforces upskill and will ensure that the next generation of employees in the manufacturing sector are highly trained and digitally enabled.”
Barry Kennedy, CEO of IMR, added that technology is “changing at a rate never seen before”. If Ireland is to maintain and grow its position in the manufacturing sector, which is crucial to GDP growth, then businesses needs to “figure out how to rapidly and securely introduce these emerging technologies to stay relevant in the marketplace”.
Kennedy added that the collaboration between his organisation and AMTCE will focus on providing industry-oriented training based on evolving sectoral needs and tech innovations, in order to “create and maintain meaningful impact at a national level”.
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