More than 100 schoolchildren found out about opportunities coming to their doorstep as an initiative which will create 700 jobs held its community launch.
The Industrial Solutions Hub, known as iSH, promises to bring employment, skills and training opportunities to Cleator Moor and help regenerate the community.
Children from the town’s Montreal and St Patrick’s primary schools got hands-on experience at Cleator Moor Civic Hall on Friday of some of the technology which will be part of the initial development at Leconfield.
Local company Forth, which has bases in Cleator Moor, Flimby, and Barrow, brought cutting edge digital technology to the launch.
Forth set up an augmented reality car in a giant inflatable outside the hall so the children got the opportunity to try out the latest technology. They also demonstrated the firm’s remote controlled rescue robot which is used by Sellafield.
Inside the hall the children also got to control drones on a simulator thanks to Sellafield’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle team, which is based at the Centre of Excellence at Cleator Moor.
Technology firm V360 gave the children a chance to try out the latest virtual reality technology and Sarah Watt, who specialises in running science workshops for children, set up a hands-on engineering challenge for the young students.
John Maddison, managing director of iSH, said: “Seeing the smiles on all the children’s faces is what it is all about.
“There are exciting opportunities coming to Cleator Moor through iSH and all its partners who get involved, including entrepreneurs, businesses and a range of organisations, who will make this a truly transformative initiative for Cleator Moor and surrounding area.
“It’s important for everyone that schools and the whole community have a clear pathway to the opportunities that will be created through iSH and that’s why it was so great to see our exhibitors inspiring so many children.
“Thanks to all the staff at the schools and all the exhibitors for giving up their time and supporting the event to give the children such a hands-on experience.
“We will continue to reach out to all areas of society and ensure iSH is genuinely inclusive and offers jobs, skills, and training opportunities for those who otherwise might be overlooked.
“At the launch people have told us it’s a once in three generations opportunity. It’s wonderful to think that some of the children who have attended the launch will go on to have exciting careers and jobs here in a few years time.”
Part of the initial funding for the iSH project comes through the Cleator Moor Town Deal. The Town Deal Board, working with Copeland Borough Council, secured an offer of £22.5m from Government in June 2021 to deliver its Town Investment Plan which will help the area and its communities to thrive for years to come.
One of the Investment Plan projects is Enterprising Town, phase one of iSH to develop new facilities at the Leconfield Estate in Cleator Moor in order to harness new employment opportunities for the community and to attract further investment and skills to the area.
The Town Deal project at Leconfield focuses on using funding offered by the Government and other sources to create a new, flexible hub and commercial building space as well as improvements and landscaping to the existing site, benefiting both the community and estate tenants through the longer term development of skills and business support.
