Made Smarter gets £6 mill-plus grant for SME digitalisation
12 Oct 2022
Made Smarter, the digital roll out scheme for small to medium enterprises, has secured a further £6.1 million from Government to continue the national roll-out of its programme.
To date, it has supported an estimated 2,500 SME manufacturers to adopt new digital technology and skills to create growth and jobs, with 250 in the North West of England alone, many concentrated in the chemicals sector.
Made Smarter’s adoption programme in the North West has helped small and medium-sized companies start their digital journey by providing them with specialist advice and a digital roadmap to help them select the right approach, level of investment and tools for their business.
Made Smarter-supported manufacturers are on course to create 1,250 new jobs as well as upskilling 2,300 existing roles. This has delivered an additional £176 million in gross value added to the region, it said.
In addition to the North West region, the Made Smarter adoption programme now includes the West of England and East Midlands in addition to previous recruits the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands regions.
Alain Dilworth, programme manager for the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the North West, said: “This new funding means we can renew our ambition to reach out to the region’s SME manufacturers to connect them to the tools that will make an everyday difference to their businesses, build resilience and enable them to keep up with a fast-moving industry.”
