MIRA Technology Institute director joins T Level Qualifications body

As the government launches its awareness campaign for its new T Level Apprenticeships, the Nuneaton-based MIRA Technology Institute’s Operations Director, Lisa Bingley, is set to join the body responsible for the development of high-profile T-Level qualifications and apprenticeships as a panel member for engineering and manufacturing.

Lisa joins the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) as part of a team led by Dr Graham Honeyman CBE, Head of International Business Development at Sheffield Forgemasters, that includes representatives from E.ON UK, Jaguar Land Rover and the Ministry of Defence.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is also responsible for T-Levels, the two-year technical study programmes set to become one of three major options for students to study at Level 3 alongside apprenticeships and A-Levels.

This commitment, which Lisa takes on alongside her full-time role at the MTI, involves detailed oversight of apprenticeship standards and T-Levels to ensure that they meet the needs of students, businesses and the wider economy.

Panel members for the Institute are experts in their industry, with outstanding occupational knowledge, exceptional experience and a critical grasp of the future skills needs of their sectors. Selected to represent the employer voice within the Institute, panel members are all passionate advocates for apprenticeships and T-Level qualifications.

Lisa said, “I look forward to making an impact at this critical time for British industry and education.

“It is essential that we enable organisations to upskill their workforces in the most meaningful way, bringing highly relevant skills to an employment market that is experiencing rapid change. With the current spotlight on green energy, we are especially keen at the MTI to make sure that companies put themselves in the best position to compete in the new and disruptive technologies affecting the automotive sector, particularly those affecting emissions, driverless and electric vehicles.”

The IfATE works with employer groups called trailblazers to develop apprenticeship standards and assessment plans as well as making recommendations on funding bands to the Department for Education.

They maintain a strategic overview of their occupational sector, identifying potential skills gaps or overlaps and ensuring that new apprenticeship standards and T-Level qualifications work together to provide clear pathways for career progression. Members act as Ambassadors to the Institute, often speaking at sector conferences, and offer their time and expertise on a voluntary basis.

Lisa joined the MIRA Technology Institute as Operations Director after 20 years working in the automotive engineering sector. In this role, Lisa is employed by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, the lead partner for the MTI.

Lisa started her career as a toolmaking apprentice before moving on to become a technician apprentice with a machining and die casting company, where she progressed to project design engineer. While studying for a degree in engineering at Brunel University, Lisa completed an industrial placement at an automotive technical centre and subsequently joined the HORIBA MIRA graduate programme, moving through a range of roles, from safety integration engineer to programme manager.

Lisa is a Chartered Engineer and works in a voluntary capacity for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, currently as chair of the automotive events programme committee and vice chair of the automotive division board. She is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ambassador for Warwickshire, working with local schools to set up Imagineering clubs (where pupils work on practical engineering projects) and acting as a judge at the finals of the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair. Lisa sees the collaboration of industry and education as key to delivering the specialist skills development that is vital to the future of the automotive and transport sectors.

The MIRA Technology Institute was built with a £9.5m allocation from the Local Growth Fund, a pot of government funding awarded to the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership Limited (LLEP) for projects that benefit the local area and economy. MTI is located on the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton.

Formed through a partnership between industry and education the MTI offers a full spectrum of training opportunities from apprenticeships to bespoke and commercial courses for businesses from across the sector, from SMEs to global organisations. It provides access to a unique skills escalator, enabling individuals to start an apprenticeship at Level 2 or above and progress to PhD level with the same training partnership. As a dedicated resource for the automotive industry, the MTI can help talented students to develop their skills and work towards achieving incorporated and chartered engineer status.

Training includes degree level studies and short courses delivered in state-of-the-art facilities covering subjects including cybersecurity, noise vibration and harshness, metrology, powertrain and battery systems. Programmes include automotive-related maths and science, health and safety, vehicle electrics and electronics, vehicle systems, engine principles and operation.