Our history

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Semta's history

Semta is a well-established organisation, formed in July 1991, with origins going back to the mid-sixties and the Industrial Training Act of 1964:

1964 - Engineering Industry Training Board
The EITB  had the power to impose a financial training levy on employers over a certain size. Employers who could prove a good track record of training activity could be granted exemption from most of the levy.

1991 - The Engineering Training Authority
The Engineering Training Authority was created from the EITB and allocated some of its assets. A new voluntary organisation was created called EnTra, the Engineering Training Authority, which had no statutory levy-raising powers.

1996 - EMTA
A merger with the Marine and Engineering Training Association, spawned EMTA, which took responsibility for engineering and manufacturing skills, as one of more than 70 National Training Organisations. These were effectively taken out by the Government in March 2002 when their support funding was withdrawn.

2003 - Semta
In 2003 Semta successfully bid for a licence as a sector skills council following the merger of EMTA with the Science Technology and Mathematics Council. In 2005 Semta merged with MetSkill and in 2006 set up the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing to help raise the sector's global competitiveness by developing top quality, fit-for-purpose solutions to critical training and development needs.

In 2005 Semta underwent a review by the National Audit Office and was successfully relicensed.

As a government-licensed sector skills council, Semta performs many essential roles, including the development of comprehensive National Occupational Standards and apprenticeship frameworks that can be practically applied by employers and the design and development of skills solutions which satisfy employers' needs.
 

Today

Semta is responsible for engineering skills for the future of the UK’s most advanced sectors. Led by employers, our job is to transform the skills and productivity of the people who power our engineering and advanced manufacturing technologies sectors, enabling UK industry to compete on the global stage.