Training partner for upskilling and training locals

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Sigma Wales has been revealed as the organisation that will be responsible for training workers on the proposed Circuit of Wales automotive centre of excellence. The appointment will see Sigma playing a crucial role in developing and upskilling local employees for the £250m project, and the organisation’s boss says it will ensure that people are given skills that employers want and not “soft, empty certificates”.



This latest appointment on the project is another statement of intent from Circuit of Wales, following the naming of local businessman Jonathan Jones as Head of Recruitment and Training in March. Sigma has a strong track record in the automotive sector, having worked with some of the industry’s biggest names such as Jaguar Land Rover, Caterpillar, Audi and BMW.



The organisation’s focus is on giving people a bridge to employment by teaching them what is required by employers. Relevant skills for the modern workplace are emphasised in this training: hard and soft skills, behaviour, communication and workplace values.

Brendan Hand, CEO of Sigma Wales, says: “We make sure people get the chance to impress the employer and this definitely increases their understanding of what businesses need from them as employees. We don’t train for training’s sake: training must be relevant.”

According to the group behind Circuit of Wales, the provision of local jobs is one of the key reasons the project has been proposed for Blaenau Gwent –a region where less than two-thirds of working age people are in employment– and not other locations in the UK.The Heads of the Valleys Development Company has long emphasised its commitment to revitalising the region through allocating jobs to local people, and the appointment of Sigma is testament to their desire to upskill a new generation of workers.



“Since the inception of Circuit of Wales, the word on everybody’s lips has been ‘jobs’,” says Michael Carrick, chief executive of the Heads of the Valleys Development Company. “It’s one of the main reasons we decided we wanted to bring the project here: the positive effect it would have in reawakening a dormant economy by putting people into work.”



Brendan Hand believes his company’s appointment to the Circuit of Wales cause will answer the questions many people have asked on the issue of employment. “We are passionate about the impact that the Circuit of Wales would make in the local and wider communities in Ebbw Vale, and about the legacy it would leave for future generations,” he says. “This fits so well with what Sigma is about and our values, and we are convinced that we can make a real difference. We are proud to have been contracted for this project.”





Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is set to make its announcement regarding the planning decision on Circuit of Wales early next month, with the date publicised in advance of the full Council meeting.