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Council seeks new development partners as town centre regeneration gathers pace

Sam Whitear
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Bolton Council is seeking new development partners as it bids for government levelling up funding to help deliver three key sites in the town centre.

As circumstances have changed over the last 18 months, the council has reached a mutual agreement with previous developers to surrender their options agreements on redevelopment schemes at Crompton Place, Trinity Gateway and Le Mans Crescent.

However, Bolton Council has moved rapidly to begin a new procurement process.
It is expected that new developers will be confirmed as early as December this year.
Once selected, the developers will consider whether existing plans need to be amended for the sites in question.
However, the council owns the intellectual property assets prepared under previous proposals, including designs, consents, warranties, technical reports and architect plans.
This will ensure a rapid start to new schemes.
Bolton Council leader, Cllr Martyn Cox, said: “Although re-procuring development partners will extend the development process, removing all option agreements gives us a much better chance of securing a levelling up fund grant from government.
“The work already undertaken in relation to these projects means the new developers will start from a more advanced stage than would normally be the case and will therefore be in a position to start construction as soon as possible.”
The Council will be using the Pagabo Procurement Framework to select suitable developers, assisted by advisers JLL.
There are a number of high-profile developers on the framework who have a track record for delivering large scale schemes within Greater Manchester and know the difficulties that Councils face to bring such schemes forward.
The expressions of interest from the developers will allow them to access the data and detailed information and present the council with their ideas to deliver the first phase of this important scheme for Bolton.
Once the selected proposals are delivered, they will add to the visible progress already being made in relation to the town centre regeneration programme.
Despite uncertainties and delays caused by COVID-19, there is impressive momentum under way with numerous development schemes currently being delivered in Bolton Town Centre, including Central Street, Moor Lane bus station, YMCA, Westbrook (on the corner of
Lower Bridgeman Street and Manchester Road), Church Wharf, Bark Street.
Additionally, Bolton Council have recently been successful in securing £23.9m of government grant funding through the Towns Fund, which will be used to deliver four major projects in and around Cheadle Square and Ashburner Street.
A further £10.73m has been secured from the GM Brownfield Fund and this will be used to undertake site preparation work on five town centre development sites.
The government’s Future High Street Fund has also provided £13.27m for the redevelopment of Farnworth town centre.
This funding support means Bolton has been able to continue to deliver its regeneration plans, despite difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A challenge shared is a problem solved – Innovate Manchester opens new revenue stream for Dsposal

Sam Whitear
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The idea that to innovate you must collaborate has become an article of faith in the 21st Century global economy. As we move through a period of intense change driven by advances in digital technology, and with added concerns over our collective impact on the environment, there’s a sense that the most valuable and disruptive ideas can be hatched by small and medium-sized organisations working in partnership with bigger players… 

Innovate Manchester: Facilitating Innovation 

Aimed as supporting the region’s forward-looking businesses, Innovate Manchester was created by MIDAS and GC Business Growth Hub.  

Taking place across the region and part of GC Business Growth Hub’s wider Innovation Service, Innovate Manchester is a series of unique and pioneering events; aimed at helping its local SME community, as they help overcome whatever challenges are facing our large collaborative partners.  

Innovate Manchester consisted of a series of open access webinars featuring expert panel discussions and focused Innovation Labs, where a business’ specific challenges were identified and discussed. The events became an essential platform for both SMEs to also identity collaborative approaches to help potential partners innovate their products, services and business operations 

Just one example of successful collaboration, Innovate Manchester initiated and helped accelerate the ongoing collaboration between GC Business Growth Hub collaboration partner and Italian pharmaceutical company Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., which has over 400 people based in their UK affiliate located in Heald Green, and the smart waste software provider Dsposal, an SME also based in Manchester. 

An opportunity to make a positive change 

Chiesi came with a compelling challenge for SMEs to discuss: over 70 million inhalers are used in the UK every year to treat respiratory conditions, of which most will be disposed of as household domestic waste. 

The majority of inhalers are made from plastic casings and some contain an aluminium canister and fluorinated gas propellant. As there is no separation process for an inhaler’s components at municipal waste processing plants, all the device’s constituent parts often end up in landfill sites. Not only does this constitute a significant amount of waste material, but the propellant that remains in some inhalers can leak into the atmosphere. 

Chiesi is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its products and supply chain – and one of its key objectives is to avoid inhaler devices being consigned to landfill. To this end, Chiesi decided to explore how the waste processing system could be managed in order to capture and recycle the inhaler’s component parts after it has been thrown away. 

The Innovate Manchester event was the ideal opportunity to share the challenge and draw on the expertise of a wider circle of SMEs that they otherwise wouldn’t have engaged with.  

One of the SMEs in attendance that took up the challenge was Dsposal. Chiesi’s problem resonated with the business strongly, as not only does it specialise in modernising waste processes and circular economy service design, but its team have a lot of combined expertise in pharmaceuticals, the healthcare sector and supply chains.  

This combination of skills and experience meant that Dsposal was uniquely well-placed to work on the issue at hand. 

Facilitating a collaborative approach.

Through the delivery of immersive Innovation Lab sessions, virtual workshops, expert-led talks and dedicated break-out sessions, Dsposal got to grips with the question posed by Chiesi and worked through how waste management software and behaviour change campaigns could be utilised. 

Being embedded in the waste industry, Dsposal was able to advise on how the sector operates and the obstacles that would need to be overcome.  

Dsposal considered the problem as part of the bigger system – and how changes to one aspect of the waste system will impact others, helping to ensure that the eventual solution would be fit for purpose. 

Consultants at MIDAS and GC Business Growth Hub facilitated follow-up sessions between the two organisations, where a ‘proof of concept’ scheme is now in place and is currently being piloted. 

Overcoming the challenges 

The new concept was launched in January 2021 and will run for 12 months, at the end of which the results will be evaluated and shared with relevant stakeholders for consideration and to assess the feasibility of upscaling. 

The connection built between Dsposal and Chiesi through the Innovate Manchester programme has grown into a strong working relationship. Since the Innovation Lab, supported by GC Business Growth Hub, the two businesses have developed an opportunity with Innovate UK and an additional Manchester-based SME, Reply, on a human-centred research project around designing sustainable plastic solutions 

Dsposal’s ability to look at people’s behaviours around waste has been an important aspect of helping Chiesi understand how inhalers are used and how people feel about them. This has highlighted a number of opportunities to make the devices more environmentally friendly by rethinking how they’re designed, operated and disposed of when no longer needed or usable.  

At a cultural level, being exposed to Dsposal’s insights expanded Chiesi’s thinking and its appetite to tackle a challenge it had previously believed was too difficult to overcome. 

For Dsposal, a key learning has been that, aside from its software development capabilities, its institutional knowledge of the waste industry is a key asset that has value for other businesses. This awareness of how its in-depth understanding of supply chains and waste management, combined with a systemic problem-solving approach, can support other organisations in their circular economy or sustainability ambitions and has encouraged it to engage in similar collaborative projects. 

A bright future together 

Moving forward, Chiesi is willing to explore new avenues with Dsposal to further improve the sustainability of inhalers and both businesses are looking forward to an effective long-term collaboration. 

Chiesi is particularly aware that navigating the waste and medicines regulations remains a difficulty for pharmaceutical companies and having an established relationship with an expert SME in this area will be highly advantageous.  

“The exercise with the team and our relationship with Dsposal has been an extremely positive experience enabling us to accelerate our plans for inhaler recycling which is a key component of our B-Corp programme in the UK,” a Chiesi spokesperson said.  

Sophie Walker, founder of Dsposal, commented: “The opportunity that was unlocked through the Innovate Manchester programme has been really beneficial for Dsposal. It established a productive relationship with Chiesi, laid the foundations for our successful Innovate UK bid and opened our eyes to a whole new revenue stream. It’s been brilliant.” 

 

SMEs looking to access specialist support and engage with large organisations to develop new products and services can contact us for more information: 

Innovate Manchester is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-2020, as part of the GC Business Growth Hub Innovation Support Programme. 

Siemens technology helps Hallé venue win top architecture award for sustainability

Sam Whitear
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The Oglesby Centre extension to Hallé St Peter’s in Manchester won three RIBA 2021 awards

Hallé St Peter’s, the historic rehearsal venue and community centre for the world-famous orchestra, has scooped a top architecture award for sustainability, thanks to its partnership with Siemens.

The Oglesby Centre, a £4.3M three-storey extension to the historic recording and rehearsal venue in Manchester, won three gongs from RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) in its 2021 awards: a RIBA National Award 2021, RIBA North West Award 2021, and RIBA North West Sustainability Award 2021.

While judges praised the venue as a “highly successful and sophisticated piece of urban architecture”, they hailed the Hallé’s “thorough sustainability strategy” and focus on reducing energy use, which performs well against RIBA’s 2030 Climate Challenge targets, aimed to help architects design towards net zero.

Judges said this was a notable achievement because performance spaces like those provided in the Oglesby Centre, have traditionally been very “energy hungry”.

The Hallé credits its partnership with Siemens in making the Grade II listed, 150-year-old church highly energy efficient.

Supporters of the Hallé for over 20 years and major sponsors since 2011, Siemens volunteered its technology expertise during the design of the Oglesby Centre and implemented an integrated digital solution. This involves hundreds of sensors monitoring and automatically adjusting temperature, air quality and lighting to achieve optimal room conditions. Meanwhile, Siemens’ innovative Green Leaf controls notifies the room user of unnecessary energy consumption to encourage them to actively save energy.

These systems, as well as Siemens’ industry-leading fire monitoring device, Cerberus Pro, and a CCTV security system, are linked into Siemens’ digital building management system, Desigo, an intuitive platform that can be used to keep the building and its users safe and secure.

David Butcher, Chief Executive of the Hallé, said: “The Oglesby Centre has won lots of awards since it opened in 2019, so to be named one of RIBA’s buildings of the year, and win recognition for its sustainability, is the icing on the cake.

“The sustainability and energy efficiency of this magnificent facility was also at the heart of our design. Working with Siemens we have been able to find state-of-the-art solutions to achieve our goals of meeting the challenge of climate change while reducing operating costs, so more resources can be dedicated to nurturing future generations of musical talent.”

While Siemens’ technology is expected to help Hallé St Peter’s cut its operating costs by 35% through energy reduction, it also became invaluable during the pandemic.

Martin Glynn, Venues Director for the Hallé, explained: “The technology has enabled the building to keep running. During the first coronavirus lockdown, while it was closed and all activities cancelled, it allowed us to effectively manage the building and ensure energy efficiency and security. Then, to honour our commitment to ensure our musicians and choirs, especially young people, would continue to get face to face music tuition, the building management system allows us to close off parts of the building to segregate groups for rehearsals, prevent them from mixing and keep them safe.

“The technology has been tested like no one expected and passed with flying colours.”

Robin Phillips, Siemens Manchester Site Director, said: “I am delighted that the Oglesby Centre has received recognition from RIBA and that Siemens has played a part in helping achieve that success.

“It has been fantastic to be able to bring together our experts in our building technologies and smart infrastructure to create a safe, comfortable and highly energy efficient building, which has allowed the venue to continue to be the principal rehearsal and recording venue for the world-famous Hallé orchestra, youth orchestra, choir and youth choirs, as well as provide a range of unique opportunities to participate in music and other creative art forms.”

The architects of the Oglesby Centre were Stephenson STUDIO, based in Manchester.

Altrincham, prime office investment sold for £2M

Sam Whitear
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Garden Place, a town centre freehold office investment, in Altrincham, has been sold by Private Investors for £2M to IGP Investment Ltd

Garden Place, an architecturally impressive, four storey building comprising 10,101 sq ft, occupies a prominent corner position on Victoria Street and Garden Lane within a few minutes’ walk of the prime pedestrianised Stamford Quarter, George Street and the celebrated vibrant Market.

The high spec offices are let to a good tenant mix, on effective FRI leases currently producing £149,000 per annum.

Daniel Lee, managing director, Regional Property Solutions, who sold the building on behalf of the private investors, said:

“This is the first prime multi-let office investment to be sold in the town centre this year. It attracted a great deal of interest with a robust level of quality bids on the day setting a bench mark in Manchester’s most affluent and sought after suburb”.

Regional Property Solutions and Ryden acted for the vendor and Christopher Dee LLP for the purchaser.

Bespoke International has recorded growth to over 800 employees in its first two years of operations.

Sam Whitear
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Bespoke International has recorded growth to over 800 employees in its first two years of operations.

The company, a fully integrated global outsourced customer service centre, was founded in late 2019 by Warrington-born CEO Mark Thomason and his co-directors.
Bespoke boasts major clients in the financial, retail, telecoms, travel, utilities and insurance sectors.

Mark, who lives in Cheshire and operates as a strategic consultant in the UK, is one of the founders of the international call centre industry in South Africa.
Bespoke Managing Director Rob Muschamp and Finance Director Daniel Halfpenny run operations from the company’s Durban base. Services include voice calls, online chat and email communications.

Mark attributed Bespoke’s rapid growth to having attracted the ‘right clients’, recruiting to match company culture, investment in technology before and during Covid; and the unique offer of UK strategic consultancy that works seamlessly with operational activity in South Africa.

“We’re proud to be in the position we are in,” said Mark, 53, who previously grew a call centre business in the rainbow nation into a major global BPO firm that employed more than 10,000 people.

“But this is just the beginning for Bespoke International as our mission is to be the best outsourced customer service centre in the world. Earlier this year South Africa was voted number one outsourcing destination in the world for the first time.

“It didn’t come as a surprise as not only are providers in South Africa more competitive than Europe, America and other offshore geographies – which comes at a time when businesses across the globe are under huge pressure to drive profit by cutting costs – there’s also a close cultural affinity and high quality levels of service coupled with a great work ethic.”

Bespoke clients include Utilita, the UK’s largest pre-pay energy supplier, a global e-commerce company and one of the UK’s largest green energy providers.

Mark added: “What’s unique about Bespoke’s offer is that I’m based in the UK as a strategic consultant; which means potential clients meet me, and me only, face-to-face before onboarding with our operational team in South Africa. UK clients also get a monthly review meeting with the CEO in person, whereas with other offshore BPO companies you’d only ever deal with the sales or business development staff.

“And, while the fact that we’re offshore does mean there are significant cost savings to be had,” said Mark “it’s irrelevant without quality, which means we invest heavily in preparation, planning and the design of bespoke training paths to ensure our focus is always on continuous improvement. We strive to achieve, as a minimum, the same level of performance as our clients or partners in-house teams.”

Major commercial property companies in line for film & TV exposure

Sam Whitear
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The leading locations agency for Britain’s nations and regions, UK Locations, has secured exclusive rights to represent the property portfolios of Bruntwood and Kinrise as film and TV locations. The mutually beneficial partnerships will see UK Locations adding over 100 highly sought-after commercial properties across Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool to its library.

This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of Britain’s most impressive buildings and it comes as demand for film and drama locations across the UK is rapidly increasing, providing a welcome economic boost for all concerned.

Lauren York, Managing Director at UK Locations, says, “Britain’s film and TV industry is growing at a staggering rate. In 2020, film and high-end TV production spend was at £2.84 billion – down just 20% on the previous year, which is remarkable against the backdrop of the pandemic. As a long established and highly experienced locations agency, we’re in a prime position to help property owners tap into this lucrative revenue stream – and we’re thrilled to count Bruntwood and Kinrise among our partners.”

The iconic Grade II listed Martins Bank Building in Liverpool, which was acquired by Kinrise in July, has already been booked as a location for a prime time BBC drama, with two further bookings for productions by Netflix and Apple TV in the offing. Bruntwood’s properties are proving equally popular, with Disney+ securing access to one within days of it being made available.

But the benefits of partnering with UK Locations don’t stop at the financial gains, according Bruntwood’s Senior Asset Manager, Jordan Musker: “As a company whose fundamental purpose is to create thriving cities, we are delighted to have joined forces with UK Locations to make ours and our civic and academic partners’ assets available to a booming industry that’s creating thousands of jobs across the UK’s nations and regions and boosting the economy overall.”

Co-founder at Kinrise, Sam Lawson Johnston, says the agreement with UK Locations will also give its landmark buildings the exposure they merit. “We specialise in returning buildings to their former glory, with a real focus on natural light, subtleties of design and attention to detail. Our intent is to reveal character and restore the original features. We’ve invested in some truly magnificent buildings and getting them featured in films and on TV is the ideal way to make sure they’re seen and appreciated by people far and wide.”

UK Locations plans to partner with a growing number of commercial property owners across the UK, establishing itself as the leading location agent outside of London providing outstanding, exclusive and high-end commercial and residential locations for film and TV drama. The company’s decision to add more commercial properties to its locations library comes as part of a 5-year growth plan for UK Locations developed under the Goldman Sachs ‘10,000 Small Businesses’ programme.

Walshaw Road cafe undergoes revamp and offers evening opening, entertainment and a selection of food and alcohol

Sam Whitear
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Just one year on from opening its doors, a Bury café is set to undergo a full refurbishment and reopen as a high end café bar, offering customers evening opening and an exciting menu of beers, wines and sharing platters.
In September 2020 Cosalea launched on Walshaw Road, Bury, as a new place to eat, meet and create. Its aim was to offer great quality food and drinks in a fresh, welcoming social space for the local community to enjoy and it quickly built an enviable reputation as one of the best eateries in the area.
After listening to feedback from customers, after a short refurbishment, Cosalea will reopen in October with a whole new look as a fully licensed café bar – the first licensed premises on Walshaw Road.
Owner Lisa Moore explains:
“Our customers told us time and again that there was a need in the local area for somewhere that opened in the evenings that wasn’t a pub or restaurant, and wasn’t in the centre of town. In response, we’re creating a relaxed café vibe in new, contemporary surroundings with a great choice of beers, wines, spirits and cocktails and live music.
“We’ll be introducing an evening menu with small plate and sharing platters, great to share with friends and family.
Not only does the new evening opening hours mean that customers can enjoy a wider range of food and drinks, it also means that Cosalea’s fantastic social space will also be available for longer.
With an additional room away from the main café, it will offer private dining for a special celebration, a formal meeting area for evening networking, or space for community events and classes.
Despite a turbulent year, which saw Cosalea forced to close its doors soon after opening due to lockdown, the business has gone from strength to strength.

Lisa Moore continued:
“Here at Cosalea, the local community is at the heart of everything single thing we do – being there for our customers is what we love and what we do best.
“We’ve built a loyal base of regular customers who love nothing more than popping in for a coffee, something to eat and chat with our friendly team and one another. We’d like to reassure our customers that with our latest developments, the daytime café will remain the same.
“They can enjoy the same great menu, the same warm atmosphere and the team they know so well will still be serving them. It’s the Cosalea they know and love – just even better!”
Cosalea will celebrate its new look at a launch weekend on the 15th, 16th and 17th October, here customers old and new will have the opportunity to see the refurbishment, soak up the atmosphere and sample the food and drink Cosalea has to offer.

DIGITAL DEMAND DRIVES 90% GROWTH FOR VOICESCAPE

Sam Whitear
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The remote, digital services trend of the pandemic has helped drive 90% growth for Voicescape and led to nine new hires at the public services technology provider.

New demand from local authorities nationwide to enhance the digitisation of services has seen Voicescape grow beyond its social housing heartland to support more councils with compliance, collections, resident feedback and wellbeing requirements.

Expanding services beyond the social housing sector has seen Voicescape create nine new jobs at its Manchester headquarters including two management hires in its customer success team, along with the appointment of a new business development manager and a new account manager. Voicescape has also grown its R&D team with the appointment of a new support engineer and an IT apprentice under the Government’s Kickstart scheme.

As a result, company turnover has increased by 90% in the first half of its financial year, compared to the same period in 2019, and is recruiting for a further two roles across the company.

John Doyle, founder and CEO of Voicescape, comments: “Local authorities have been increasingly embracing digital transformation – a trend that has been accelerated by the impact of the pandemic. This is changing approaches to core operational ways of working and how councils connect with the public and is a sign of long-term evolution in service provision.

“We’ve innovated and diversified our range of services, building on best-practice honed over more than a decade of working in partnership with housing associations to provide local authorities with new ways to work efficiently that also help improve public services and satisfaction.

“Our work has proven that processes can be digitised and automated, allowing valuable resources to be redeployed to other service areas to enrich the ‘human touch’ and create meaningful connections that members of the public really value.”

The past year has seen Voicescape work with local authorities to address the approach to collecting council tax arrears. Using its Collections service – an automated outbound telephone call and management system – councils are able to recover council tax arrears and increase resident engagement with a proactive and positive approach. The automated solution also frees-up resource within teams so it can be allocated to better supporting individuals that may need extra help with repayments, without the need for punitive and costly enforcement action.

John Doyle concludes: “We’ve expanded the team and will continue to make new hires to meet growing demand and to uphold and exceed the high levels of service our housing association clients know us for. There’s a significant Government-led shift towards improving the standards of public and housing services, and we’ll continue to invest in expertise that delivers solutions for meeting changing compliance requirements and enhancing resident satisfaction.”

Rochdale manufacturer opens £750k production line

Sam Whitear
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A Rochdale manufacturer has installed a second £750,000 production line in its factory that will boost its capacity by nearly 50 per cent.

Hanson Springs work extensively with the oil, gas, nuclear, power generation and railway industries and had planned to complete the much-needed production line 18 months ago.

However, because of Covid-19, the investment was delayed and the production line at its facility in Gorrels Way has only just been completed.

Directors John Hanson and Lisa Jenkinson, whose father Malcolm founded the business in 1963 and remains the managing director, said the new addition would help them meet a burgeoning order book.

John Hanson said: “We could previously produce 12 tonnes of springs a day but the new production line will enable us to produce an extra 5 tonnes a day.

“The new production line is the missing piece of the jigsaw and will be able to make larger springs weighing between 30kg and 100kg so it’s a big step forward.

“We’re delighted it’s finally ready as our sales are now higher than they were before the pandemic.”

Hanson Springs is one of the world’s largest independent spring manufacturers and employs 230 people and has an annual turnover of around £26m.

Lisa Jenkinson, who is head of purchasing, said the new production line would mean they’re less reliant on the oil and gas industry.

“Our main market is oil and gas and they’re really busy at the moment,” she said. “This will enable us to broaden our customer base. Our sales are higher than they were before the pandemic and now we have to ramp up our production levels.

“The last 18 months have been very difficult for a lot of companies and we’re no different. The impact of Covid and Brexit has had an impact on recruitment and supply chains but it’s vital we keep investing in the business.”

Lisa’s children Luke Jenkinson, 21, and Ellie Jenkinson, 18, along with John’s daughter Amy Hanson, 18, have all recently joined the Rochdale manufacturer.

Lisa said: “We’re proud to be a family business. We’re delighted that Luke, Ellie and Amy have joined but lots of staff also have relatives in the business and that family feel is one of the reasons for our longevity and success.”

As well as two bases in Rochdale the company has a US distribution warehouse in Dallas.

MIF ANNOUNCES NEW FACTORY ACADEMY TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2021/22

Sam Whitear
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Manchester International Festival (MIF) has today announced its latest Factory Academy programme for the 2021/22 academic year, providing skills and training programmes for the creative industries for people in Manchester and the wider city region.

Launched in 2018 by MIF, in partnership with a consortium of cultural organisations in the city, the award-winning Factory Academy is a key part of the vision to put skills and training opportunities at the heart of The Factory, Manchester’s landmark new arts space. Over the next five years it will deliver around 1,400 fully funded training opportunities, creating accessible pathways to work in an increasingly important sector and supporting the region’s economic recovery.

In 2021/22 the Factory Academy will offer places to 250 people across a range of programmes including bespoke pre-employment academies on subjects from construction to broadcast and film production, industry traineeships designed to immerse students in the creative and cultural industries, and opportunities to manage creative projects to develop key skills. Alongside this, it will offer Kickstart Wraparound Support to creative and cultural employers, aligned to the government Kickstart Scheme, combining students’ on-the-job learning and unique opportunities for personal development in a workplace setting.

The latest opportunity is a new 15-day training academy developed in partnership with Laing O’Rourke, Ryder Architecture and other companies who are working to bring The Factory to life. Students will discover what goes on behind the scenes at an innovative construction project, receive first-hand guidance from industry experts and develop new skills for working in construction. The course, which takes place 11-29 October, is fully funded, with no cost to participants, and is open to anyone in Manchester or Greater Manchester aged 19-24 and on Universal Credit. On completion of the academy, students will have the chance to apply for a six-month paid Kickstart role with organisations working on the design and construction of The Factory.

Last year over 150 Greater Manchester residents benefited from the Factory Academy – its first year as an independent training provider. Despite the challenges of the pandemic period, an average of 50% of students have progressed into work or further study within three months of completing the Factory Futures Academy course in the past year. In June 2021, The Factory Academy was awarded the Marquee Award at the inaugural Manchester Adult Education and Skills Awards.

Ten students graduated from the Broadcast and Film Production Traineeship in April, a partnership with Toasted Productions, Near-life, Dock 10, Jist, Title Role, The Gate Films, Delaval, Vision in Colour and Eight Engines. To date, six of the ten graduates have progressed into paid employment with organisations such as Badger and Combes, Toasted Productions, MIF and BBC Studios.

One of the graduates, Daniel Goodchild said: “The access and the resources that The Factory Academy gives to be able to apply for these jobs is just so important. I completed the Broadcast & Film Training Academy and got a BTEC out of it, was selected for a placement at Toasted Productions and then they invited me back so I’m working here full time now. There was nothing else that I had on my resume that could even get me close to a job like this.”

Simon Marsland, Director of Toasted Productions said: “It’s had a really positive impact. Businesses should get involved in The Factory Academy because everyone wins out of it.”

Madison Freeman was one of ten graduates who completed paid internships at Manchester International Festival in the lead up to and during the 2021 festival. Speaking about her experience, she said: “The contacts that I’ve made that can help me in the future has definitely boosted my confidence. It’s just proved to me that there are no boundaries and I can do whatever I want – and think big!”

Gary Briggs, Acting Head of Skills and Training at MIF said: “The Factory Academy creates unique opportunities that aren’t offered elsewhere through the partnerships we’ve developed with employers and the support we offer to help open their doors to trainees. Our courses are bespoke, not off the shelf, developed with industry experts with specialist knowledge and experience from a range of sectors, from illustrators to military trainers, sustainability experts to musicians and arts technicians.

“Our aim is to reach people that wouldn’t usually consider a career in the cultural industries and to remove some of the traditional barriers, including offering open recruitment days instead of written application forms, giving the highest quality experience with a focus on experiential learning and self-development. All the skills and knowledge you’ll acquire at a Factory Futures training programme align to employment within the creative industries and beyond and are transferable across the sector.”

Randel Bryan, Executive Director at Manchester International Festival, said: “The Factory Academy is a key part of our vision to put skills and training opportunities at the heart of The Factory. From 2023, The Factory will become a major training centre for local people wanting to work in a huge range of roles in the creative industries, meaning people can pursue careers, working alongside world-class talents, without having to leave the region. There will also be opportunities for local artists to develop and grow with the support of the MIF and the partners of the Cultural Skills Consortium.”

According to research by the CBI published in the months just before the pandemic hit in March 2020, Manchester is the second largest creative city in Europe after London, at that time bringing in £1.4bn to the city’s economy.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “In Manchester we’ve never doubted the power of culture and creativity to help change lives and this is why we continue to invest in it, and why the city has been recognised as the second largest creative city in Europe after London.

“By providing new and innovative training and development opportunities for local people in the cultural and creative industries the Factory Academy has a key part to play in helping us grow our own highly skilled workforce here in the city and in supporting the continued growth of the sector.”

Applications for the 2021/22 programme open from September. For more information please visit mif.co.uk

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