The Autumn Budget which was announced earlier this week (30 October) saw the UK Government announce it would spend £16m to expand its Made Smarter Adoption programme across the entirety of England.
The programme, which was launched in the North West in 2019, was designed to help manufacturers adopt technology and digital skills.
Since 2022, a central government funded adoption programme has been running in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and East Midlands, along with a locally funded programme in the West of England.
So far, across all manufacturing industries, it has engaged with 2,500 businesses and funded 379 technology projects, which are forecast to create more than 1,700 new jobs and upskill 3,200 existing roles.
These investments in technology and people are anticipated to grow the economy by £267m over the next three years.
This latest round of backing will now see the initiative stretching across all nine English regions, with the work beginning in 2025 and rolling through to 2026. The expansion will mean thousands more SME manufacturers will receive access to technology advice, leadership and skills training, as well as grant finding for digital internships and tech projects.
The Budget also set out plans for a modern Industrial Strategy and the extension of the Made Smarter Innovation programme with up to £37m of funding between 2025-26.
Brian Holliday, co-chair of the Made Smarter Commission and MD of Siemens Digital Industries welcomed the announcement: “I am particularly pleased the programme has been supported by successive governments, helping to stimulate longer-term thinking and long-term growth – now backed up by an emerging Industrial Strategy.
“Manufacturing leaders need Made Smarter, which has become the best-known start-point and signposting service for the sector in support of productivity, competitiveness and sustainability improvement at scale.”
In other news, peanut butter brand ManiLife is investing £1m into a production facility based in Derbyshire. Find out more here.
