£11.8m boost for region’s SME manufacturers

Small to medium-sized (SME) manufacturers in Yorkshire can start taking advantage of an £11.8m business support boost to help them grow and address key skills issues.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme, which is funded by ERDF and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions (part of Oxford Innovation), will help a further 2400 companies to tackle barriers to growth, with the potential of creating 2,500 jobs.

Dean Barnes, regional director of the Manufacturing Growth Programme, said: “The £11.8m extension will provide enhanced support to more SME manufacturing businesses in Yorkshire, as well as having the opportunity to add further value to those companies we have already supported.

“Our Manufacturing Growth Managers are trusted experts that understand the language MDs are talking and, through a new manufacturing diagnostic tool, can guide them on making the right decisions, before bringing in specialists on specific issues they are facing or opportunities they’re looking to explore.”

Going forward, support can be used for an array of improvement projects, such as continuous improvements, change, environmental and sustainability, leadership and management, marketing, people and skills, productivity and capacity, quality and strategy.

The additional funding aims to provide a more valuable and quality level of assistance from a local Manufacturing Growth Manager that has years of industry experience.

An in-depth business diagnostic and action plan will be provided as part of the new programme, alongside improvement grants starting from £1000.

“In October 2016, we were given the task of setting up a programme capable of delivering over £10.3m of dedicated business support to SME manufacturers and I’m delighted to say that, thanks to the hard work of the staff and the Manufacturing Growth Managers on the ground, we have achieved that,” said Martin Coats, operations director of Oxford Innovation.

“Over the course of the last two and a half years we have helped more than 2000 SMEs to identify and overcome barriers to their growth and this has added millions of pounds to the local economy and created in excess of 3000 jobs, safeguarding thousands more in the process.”

He added: “Supporting Yorkshire manufacturers is not easy and you need a tailored approach, delivered by experts who understand what it is like working in industry.

“The Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and local Growth Hubs have seen first-hand the value we add to firms in their respective areas and this has resulted in their commitment to support us for another two and a half years.”