Made Smarter Adoption to expand to all England regions

Thousands more SME manufacturers will benefit from the UK Government's technology and skills programme.

Announced in the Autumn Budget, £16mln will fund the expansion of the Made Smarter Adoption programme to all nine English regions in 2025-26.

Thousands more SME manufacturers will now be able to access technology advice, leadership, skills training and grant funding for digital internships and technology projects.

Launched in the North West in 2019, Made Smarter has engaged 2,500 manufacturers and funded 279 technology projects, forecast to create more than 1,700 new jobs and upskill 3,200 existing roles. The government says the investments are set to grow the economy by £267mln in the next three years. 

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.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves also announced plans for a modern Industrial Strategy, and to extend the Made Smarter Innovation programme with up to £37mln in 2025-26.

There were also long-term funding commitments for growth-driving sectors, with £975mln for aerospace, more than £2bln for the automotive sector and up to £520mln for a new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

See the full IOM3 response to the budget