Insights

How Manchester is powering Industry 4.0, a report by MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency

MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency explores Greater Manchester’s capabilities in Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Advanced Manufacturing, in a new report that demonstrates how the city region’s integral role in the 1st industrial revolution has powered ambitions to become a leader in the 4th.

Greater Manchester, Manufacturing Machinery for Tomorrow shines a light on key milestones in Greater Manchester’s deep-rooted history in the industry and explores the development of world class Research Institutes, such as the Advanced Machinery & Productivity Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, that are creating an attractive market for ambitious businesses.

Home to existing success stories such as Jaguar Land Rover, ARM, AECOM, BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty, Hitachi and Jacobs Engineering, it has proven to be a highly productive city-region for SME’s and global powerhouses alike.

Rhys Whalley, MIDAS Acting Managing Director said:  

“Advanced Manufacturing showed significant growth last year, with a record number of exciting projects – companies investing here for the first time and existing businesses expanding – creating high-quality roles in Greater Manchester as a result of foreign direct investment.

Thanks to the collaborative approach across the city-region from ambitious experts at our world-leading programmes, our position at the heart of the UK’s largest manufacturing and advanced engineering cluster is growing stronger. Investment at government level will only help fuel this further. “

Autonomous systems contribute immensely to global net zero goals in terms of reducing waste, increasing efficiencies, and producing quality and sustainable products and with the city-region’s accelerated aims.”

 

In line with Greater Manchester’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2038, 13 new low carbon projects worth a GVA of over £74.8m, were secured by MIDAS in the financial year 21-22.

These include Japanese battery manufacturer Exergy in Trafford and sustainable packaging manufacturer Hexcore in Rochdale; set to make a huge impact on how Greater Manchester achieves its ambitious target and how it supports carbon reduction globally.

In addition, thanks to an increased awareness around cyber-crime and fraud, the report features advice from local experts on how and why businesses in the sector can protect and upskill themselves.

 

Rachel Eyre, Head of Inward Investment, Advanced Manufacturing at MIDAS said:  

“Greater Manchester has highly ambitious aims to achieve net carbon neutrality. Innovating through autonomous systems and robotics is one way we can achieve this at scale and provides opportunities for a variety of industries such as Life Sciences, Built Environment, aviation and transport to be instrumental in creating new solutions.  This campaign clearly highlights how our renowned ecosystem will power change.”

 

For more information and to download the report, visit he MIDAS website: Industry 4.0 (investinmanchester.com)

Construction and Green Energy training courses to launch in Greater Manchester to fill skills gap

New training programmes across Greater Manchester will see hundreds of people fast-tracked into roles in construction and green energy, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has revealed.

GMCA has awarded £1.5m to five training providers which will run skills bootcamps to support people across Greater Manchester to build in-demand, sector-specific skills. The programme is being funded through the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, with approximately £341,00 being awarded to One Manchester and £125,000 to Complete Skills Solutions.

The Construction and Green Energy training courses on offer have been designed alongside employers and aim to help people secure employment while filling skills gaps highlighted by the sector.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Greater Manchester’s lead for Education, Work, Skills, Apprenticeships and Digital said: “These Skills Bootcamps will help us to continue building a better Greater Manchester for everyone, giving unemployed adults or those in low-income work a chance to learn or retrain and then go on to get good, future-proof jobs and careers.

“With pressure on people’s incomes this year, one of the best ways Greater Manchester Combined Authority can help people is through courses designed with improving job prospects with local employers in mind.

“Greater Manchester is helping more people get the skills they need for good quality jobs, not just in green and construction industries but also through our other Skills Bootcamps focussed on digital skills. Training residents in Construction and Green Energy skills also helps support our work towards building a greener, fairer and more prosperous Greater Manchester.”

One Manchester’s Skills Bootcamps are being run in partnership with Morsons and B4 Box and will focus on delivering Rail Engineering and Construction skills.

The construction course is a part-time course which will be based in Stockport and take place over 12 weeks. Participants will complete training in Construction Multi-skills and learn a range of retrofitting skills designed to help the city-region meet net-zero targets.

The Rail Engineering Bootcamp is a full-time three-to-four-week course based in Salford, which provides participants with a “range of skills” to undertake duties across major rail projects and routine maintenance.

One Manchester’s Director of Customers and Communities, Issy Taylor, said: “We are proud to be a part of the team delivering this essential training which will help our residents to learn the skills they need for a variety of job roles.

“We are working with established training providers Morsons and B4 Box to offer the Skills Bootcamps, which are flexible and ideal for someone who is interested in working in the construction or engineering sector.

“If one of our residents is interested in joining the bootcamps but needs a bit of help with their application, our Employment and Skills service is on hand to support people with that too.”

The Complete Skills Solutions’ Skills Bootcamps are being run in partnership with Complete Training Solutions. These bootcamps focus on renewable solar energy skills training which will take place over four weeks across Manchester and Liverpool. Participants will gain both a practical and theoretical understanding of solar construction along with industry qualifications.

Learners will also gain access to sector-specific employability coaching, which is designed to prepare participants for a guaranteed interview with Fieldway Group following the successful completion of training.

The programme is part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs initiatives, which is designed to help people onto the career ladder, transition back into work or access progression opportunities, while also helping employers meet skills needs.

Complete Skills Solutions Managing Director, Ian Green, said: “We are delighted to expand our offering, enabling Greater Manchester residents to complete the Green Energy Skills Bootcamp.

“The Skills Bootcamp has been hugely successful, and we hope that success will continue in Greater Manchester. Forecasts predict considerable growth in the green construction and renewables industries, with plenty of opportunities for individuals to access sustainable employment.

“With a wealth of opportunities available, there has never been a better time to enter the green industry. The Green Energy Skills Bootcamp expansion enables us to support even more individuals to start their journey in the sector.”

Skills Bootcamps are flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for those aged 19 and over which give people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and a guaranteed interview with a local employer on completion. This programme is part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs initiatives, designed to help people onto the career ladder, transition back into work or access progression opportunities, while also helping employers meet skills needs.

Skills Bootcamps will also support individuals across priority groups including:

  • Low paid workers
  • The unemployed or out of work
  • Veterans
  • Ex-offenders
  • Women
  • Ethnic minorities
  • The over 50s
  • Those returning to work after a break/maternity leave
  • People living with health conditions or disabilities

 

To apply for One Manchester Skills Bootcamps please visit: Skills Bootcamps | One Manchester

 

To apply for Complete Skills Solutions Skills Bootcamps please visit: Green Energy Skills Bootcamp | Fully Funded Wind Industry Training (greenskillsbootcamp.co.uk)

 

For more information about Skills Bootcamps please visit: Skills Bootcamps – Greater Manchester Combined Authority (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk)

Manchester-based Be.EV receives £110m to scale EV charge points across North

Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy investors, is allocating up to £110m on behalf of its Sky fund (ORI SCSp) for Manchester-based public EV charging network Be.EV to scale and install new charge points across the UK.

Octopus Energy already supplies all Be.EV chargers with 100% green electricity. The deal will help grow Be.EV’s 150-strong public charge point network, with Be.EV committed to adding 1,000 further charge points across the North of England and beyond by 2024.

The move will increase Be.EV’s charge point coverage by over 600% and positions the Manchester-based business as a leader in the transition to electric vehicles.

Public EV charge points are currently unevenly distributed in the UK, skewed towards London. Research from Department for Transport shows London has the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of the population, at 102. For comparison, the North West has 24 for every 100,000 people.

 Octopus’ backing means Be.EV, which already operates Greater Manchester’s largest public EV charging network, can address this imbalance at speed.

Its unique model builds concentrated, community-based charging networks where they’re most needed to ensure fair access to public chargers in all communities and to instil consumer confidence in the transition to electric vehicles no matter where they’re based.

Matt Setchell, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team: “Our first foray into funding EV charging infrastructure is a significant milestone. We’re accelerating the green energy transition, with more deals coming up to turbocharge it. As a nation, we need to rapidly build more EV charge points to meet the growing number of drivers going electric. Easy and fair access to chargers will help phase out petrol-guzzling cars once and for all.”

 

Asif Ghafoor, CEO and co-founder of Be.EV: “Everybody, not just the wealthy, must be able to make the switch to electric cars but currently people who live outside London or in less affluent areas are underserved by public EV charging. If you live in a flat or terrace, you can’t charge at home. This investment addresses that imbalance and helps kickstart a national infrastructure effort that, for once, doesn’t start in London.

 

“The backing from Octopus is transformational for us. We have sites lined up and underway that will form dense clusters of chargers that give people the confidence to go electric. We’re also building infrastructure that communities can be proud of, reinventing charging locations as green neighbourhood hubs and developing iconic designs. Octopus’ support means we can take this unique approach to other parts of the country, addressing the imbalance in charging provision across north and south, urban and rural communities.”

 

This deal marks the next step in Octopus Energy Group’s advancement of EVs. Its EV roaming service Electric Universe makes charging EVs simple as drivers use one card and app to access over 310,000 public charge points from a range of brands globally. As part of this agreement, Be.EV will be joining Electric Universe, alongside the 460+ other charging networks on the platform.

In addition, Octopus’ Electric Vehicles division makes the switch to electric cars easy with initiatives like its all-you-need EV package, providing drivers with a car, charger and bespoke electricity tariff.

This latest deal will support the 456,000 EVs** on UK roads today. With over half of drivers aged 16 to 49 years in the UK likely to switch to an EV in the next decade***, the EV market is set to massively grow – and access to public chargers will play a vital role.

More about Octopus Energy Generation here: https://www.octopusenergygeneration.com

 

Department for Transport, Electric Vehicle charging device statistics: January 2022, showing how London has the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, at 102. For comparison, the North West has 24 for every 100,000 people.

** The RAC’s ‘The road to electric – in charts and data’, 2022 estimates

*** Over half of younger drivers likely to switch to electric in next decade, ONS Census 2021, October 2021

Work begins on transformational new medical and clinical skills college in Bolton

Building work has begun on a new state-of-the-art medical and clinical skills training college in Bolton.

The Bolton College of Medical Sciences (BCMS) is due to open next year at the Royal Bolton Hospital site on Minerva Road, Farnworth.

Once completed, the college will aim to provide a range of courses and training opportunities for medical students including nursing apprenticeships and higher apprenticeships in care leadership and management.

The BCMS will give people a direct route into clinical healthcare employment, with a focus on practical, skills-based learning in a live hospital environment.

Leaders say it will provide unrivalled training opportunities for aspiring and existing healthcare professionals and will serve as a transformational blueprint for training NHS staff.

The college is expected to train 3000 students a year and contribute £150million to the borough’s economy.

 Project director Mark O’Reilly stated “After several years in the making, it’s fantastic to see our vision for this trailblazing facility come to life. We’re now well on our way to opening the doors to a facility that will change people’s lives not just here in Bolton, but across the North West.”

The college will offer a range of new courses and apprenticeships that will provide entry-level and higher-level skills development for those aged 16 and over. Its apprenticeship provision will extend to higher and degree apprenticeships, with programmes including nursing, care leadership and management. 

Alongside these courses, BCMS will also deliver continual professional development opportunities for existing NHS staff across Greater Manchester.

University of Bolton President and Vice-Chancellor Professor George E Holmes said: “BCMS is arguably one of the most significant projects delivered in the North West in decades.

“Not only will it increase employment prospects in the local area and make healthcare professions more accessible, but it will also help alleviate NHS staffing pressures in Greater Manchester and provide improved levels of care in our community.

“It’s brilliant to see the build underway.”

The major project is a collaboration between the University of Bolton, Bolton College, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Bolton Council and is one of the biggest projects Bolton has seen in recent years.

It was made possible after £20 million worth of Levelling Up funding was granted by the government and after Bolton Council granted planning permission for the development in June.

Bolton’s cabinet member for regeneration Cllr Adele Warren said: “Bolton College of Medical Sciences will be a great asset to our borough, creating jobs and giving residents the opportunity to learn skills and train for a new career.

“The council is proud to work closely with our partners on this development, one of many key regeneration projects being delivered across the borough.”

 

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust director of finance Annette Walker said“Bolton College of Medical Sciences will help us develop our existing staff and provide new routes for those who want a future in healthcare to expand their skills.

“It really is an exciting project both for us as an organisation and the whole town.”

Greater Manchester is home to England’s second biggest green economy outside of London, worth £8.6bn

A new study of Greater Manchester’s green technologies and services sector has found the sector, which generated £8.6bn in sales in 2019-20, represents 14.5% of the business base and 3.2% of Greater Manchester’s employment.

 

Green Economy, a membership organisation connecting buyers to suppliers of green products and services launched its second sector mapping study on the city-region at the GM Green Summit on 17 October 2022. The study, commissioned by Green Economy was delivered by Ove Arup in association with KMatrix, found that Greater Manchester’s green technologies and services sector is larger than the local advanced manufacturing, digital, creative and science and research and development sectors combined.

 

Amy House, Director of Green Economy said: “This report found that Greater Manchester’s green technologies and services sector is punching above its weight, and is home to the UKs third biggest green economy, behind London and the South East, with 4% of local sales coming from the sector.

 

“Internationally, Greater Manchester outperformed Milan, Copenhagen, Seattle, Berlin, Rome and Stockholm when comparing sales value in proportion to GDP and it contributed 46% of the North West’s sector exports.”

 

The report highlighted many strengths across the local supply chain but identified that Greater Manchester had experienced a slightly slower growth rate (7.1%) than the UK (7.4%). And within the same period globally the sector grew by 14%. Amy House said:

 

“Our report identified a positive story about the sector; however, we can see that we’ll need to invest further if we’re to ensure Greater Manchester seizes the opportunities that are presented by the net zero transition, particularly across renewable energy generation and storage. Green Economy is playing a vital role here, working with the businesses at the heart of the net zero transition to help them increase their competitiveness by diversifying, upskilling their workforces and connecting them to new market opportunities.”

 

Green Economy works with the sector in Greater Manchester through the GC Business Growth Hub, which provides funded support to small and medium enterprises in the region. Janine Smith, Director of the Hub said:

 

“We’re incredibly proud at the GC Business Growth Hub to provide a full circle approach to carbon reduction, with our Sustainability and Net Zero team implementing resource efficiency measures on the journey to net zero, and with Green Economy growing the local network of suppliers that will deliver this transition. I urge any installers, suppliers and providers of green products and services to get in touch and speak to Green Economy today.”

 

Greater Manchester’s green economy – sector mapping study is available to download from Green Economy.

 

Supporting green tech businesses to reduce carbon emissions

Green Economy is hosting an event to help local green tech businesses on their mission to manage their own carbon emissions.

Currently green tech SMEs are paving the way for large companies to reduce their emissions, without always addressing their own. Without working to reduce their own carbon emissions Green Tech SMEs risk losing credibility, competitive advantage, and business resilience.

With supply chain emissions being 11.4 x higher than operational emissions for large companies, there is increasing pressure on the supply chain to be transparent on their credentials.

Greening Your Green Tech Business will address these issues. This Green Economy Members Networking session will bring together experts who can help SMEs on their journey to net zero.

Held at Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre on Thursday 13 October, the session will feature an update on the current green marketplace as well as discussions around the SME sustainability journey with advisors from The Business Growth Hub and The Purpose Project.

Only half of UK SMEs are calculating their carbon emissions, and only 60% have plans to reduce carbon impact. With two thirds of small businesses owners worried that they do not have the skills and knowledge in place to tackle the climate crisis, this session offers a chance to discuss concerns with experts and lay the foundations to resolve supply chain issues.

The session will also include a Green Economy Surgery so that Green Tech SMEs can speak to the Green Economy Team about how best to promote their business.

Green Economy aims to support the UK’s green tech sector growth and address market failures such as a low uptake in green technologies as businesses strive to decarbonise through simplifying the process and providing expert knowledge of the marketplace.

Green Economy hopes to increase consumer confidence in green products and allow the sector to reach its full potential by supporting more businesses as they decarbonise.

It will create an active network of suppliers, investors and purchasers prioritising green tech SMEs to develop a green ecosystem and encourage collaboration.

Green Economy will create a simplified supply chain and online marketplace as well as advocate for green businesses of all sizes.  In doing this, it can influence decision-makers to improve procurement practices and advise them on which green suppliers will be most beneficial to their business.

Learn more about Greening your Green Tech Business and register to attend, here.

Learn more about Green Economy here.