60 manufacturing leaders have now received Made Smarter Leadership training

The fifth cohort of manufacturing business leaders and directors has completed a leadership training programme via the Made Smarter initiative to drive new technology uptake and productivity improvements in the North-west’s SME manufacturers.

The latest class means that 60 new digital leaders have been trained through the Made Smarter Leadership Programme. The eight-month training programme provides a blend of workshops, digital seminars and site visits, delivered by  Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), the University of Liverpool (UoL) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), to show SMEs in the region how they can adopt new technologies, ways of working and work towards net-zero emissions. The programme also uses peer-to-peer coaching to create a trusted network of leaders, many of whom have remained in close contact.

Andrea Williams, Operations Director at Norcott Technologies, an electronics manufacturer, based in Widnes, said of the Made Smarter Leadership training:

Theory is valuable and arms you with ideas, concepts and tools you can use. Each element of the programme was an important piece in the jigsaw, and every session I returned to work energised with new ideas, purpose and strategy. But hearing how it had been successfully applied to another business and seeing the proof was the breakthrough moment. That was when I saw the full picture. Everything then fell into place.

“While much of my focus is navigating the impact of Covid, the programme has given me confidence that I am moving in the right direction.”

With 60 SME leaders now empowered to transform their businesses, manufacturers across the North West are now being encouraged to register their interest for the next two cohort intakes, starting on October 7 and November 10 at Lancaster University.