A novel online platform to help innovative engineering and manufacturing companies in Norfolk and Suffolk share top talent is being set up thanks to a £180,000 grant.
The New Anglia Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering group (NAAME), which represents companies in the sector across the region, has received the award from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s Innovative Projects Fund, which provides support for initiatives that aid economic growth in the region.
The funding will be used to launch Engineering Success, an initiative to map and accelerate the development of the engineering and manufacturing cluster across Norfolk and Suffolk. Part of this work will involve setting up the talent-sharing platform, which will enable employees at companies where work patterns are seasonal to move to another business during quieter periods, thus ensuring all-year-round employment for staff and broadening the talent pool available to firms.
Jamie Thums is chair of NAAME, which has engaged with over 200 businesses in the sector in the last five years.
He said: “Our vision for NAAME is to support ambitious engineering and manufacturing businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk to thrive by bringing them together, helping them share knowledge, tackle challenges, and address the opportunities of tomorrow.
“The idea for the talent-sharing platform was conceived by NAAME business partners, and we are delighted to secure this funding to make it a reality.
“The platform will seek to retain skilled labour across the region and attract new talent. Staff rotating between firms will be better placed to share best practices and to fuel continuous improvement.”
The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor, a non-profit organisation driving tech-led economic growth in the region, partnered with NAAME to help secure the funding, and will assist with the delivery of the programme.
Linn Clabburn, programme director of the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor, said: “Advanced engineering and manufacturing companies are key to the growth of the Tech Corridor’s knowledge economy, bringing to life the ground-breaking ideas developed in our world-leading businesses and research institutions.
“Active clusters of businesses are shown to generate positive economic impacts and spill-over effects to the wider economy, so understanding and developing our manufacturing and engineering cluster will be key to the future success of our companies.
“The region is already a fantastic place to live and work, and the addition of this talent-sharing platform will make it even more attractive to the world’s top tech talent.”
Find out more about our Innovative Projects Fund here.
Find out more about Engineering Success at www.naame.net
