The Sharing in Growth project that aims to upskill UK aerospace companies has won the ‘Skills Innovation of the Year’ award, presented at the Semta Skills Awards 2018.

Sponsored by Siemens, the award was presented at a ceremony held in London, UK. The ceremony was hosted by BBC presenter Steph McGovern.

Each company associated with Sharing in Growth has committed to a four-year programme with significant funding from the UK Government to double the size of its business.

Sharing in Growth was created five years ago in order to upskill employees of aerospace small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve a 20% competitiveness improvement.

“The project has so far secured more than 3,000 jobs, aiming for an additional 7,000 by 2022.”

It is currently operating with a team of 110 people based in the UK.

A total of 64 UK-based firms with turnover ranging in size from £6m to £70m are currently engaged with Sharing in Growth.

The project has so far secured more than 3,000 jobs, aiming for an additional 7,000 by 2022.

Semta CEO Ann Watson said: “Sharing in Growth is a very deserving winner of the Semta Skills Award. It has been having a real impact on upskilling the supply chain in the UK’s vital aerospace industry.

“In this, the year of engineering, it is more important than ever to showcase such innovation in the sector and celebrate success.

“If we are to achieve the 800,000 extra engineers we need over the next few years, it is vital we have more initiatives like Sharing in Growth to keep the skills talent pipeline flowing.”

Semta is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to skill engineering and manufacturing industries in the UK.

The Semta Skills Awards 2018 included various categories, including apprentice of the year, skills champion of the year and training partner of the year.