North West Made Smarter programme secures renewed government support
22 Feb 2021
The North West’s pilot to boost productivity and employment by providing SME manufacturers access to digital tools to boost productivity, growth and create jobs, has been assured of further funding from the £8 million rollout of the national scheme.
It becomes part of the Government’s Made Smarter Adoption programme, allowing many more manufacturers to acuse the service.
Made Smarter North West Adoption director Donna Edwards (pictured) said:
“The programme has proven the value technology can bring to the manufacturing sector. We have helped hundreds of North West makers start their digital journey by providing them with specialist advice to help them select the right approach, level of investment and tools for their business.
“With the additional funding, we are able to continue reaching out to the region’s SME manufacturers to connect them to the tools that will make an everyday difference to their businesses.”
During its two year life, the programme has worked with 1,165 businesses in the region. To date, 568 have received intensive support including expert, technology advice and digital transformation workshops to help transform their business, leadership programmes and funded internships.
More than a tenth of the overall number of firms originally involved – 145 businesses – have secured matched funding totalling £3.5 million for 180 projects and leveraged an additional £10 millions-worth of private sector investment.
It is forecast that these will attract an additional £138 million in gross value added (GVA) for the North West economy over the next three years, create more than 800 jobs and upskill 1,700 existing roles.
Participants will feature in a free-to-access virtual conference, Made Smarter: The journey to digital manufacturing, on Wednesday, March 10.
