Made Smarter relaunches digital internship programme

Made Smarter has relaunched its highly successful Digital Technology Internship programme to help Greater Manchester manufacturers tackle the growing digital skills gap and accelerate innovation.

The government-funded scheme connects digitally capable students and recent graduates with SME manufacturers to work on real-world technology adoption projects.

The reboot follows the overwhelming success of the first phase (2019–2022), where nearly half of interns secured permanent jobs.

UK manufacturers are facing unprecedented workforce pressures, with 92% expecting skills gaps and over 52,000 job vacancies in the sector. The cost of inaction is mounting with an estimated £7.7 billion a year in lost productivity. These challenges are compounded by reduced immigration, an ageing workforce, and underperforming training pipelines.

To explore these challenges in more depth and share insights on how the internship programme is addressing them, Made Smarter has published a new white paper: Digital Internships: How Made Smarter helps SME manufacturers tap into tech talent. The free guide offers a deep dive into the digital skills shortage in UK manufacturing, how the programme works, and the real-world impact it’s having on both businesses and students.

Made Smarter’s Digital Internship programme helps manufacturers address immediate resource needs and long-term skills development while offering students career-defining experience.

Interns – ranging from second-year undergraduates to postgraduates and recent graduates in fields like data science, robotics, digital design, and engineering – are matched with manufacturers undertaking live digital projects. These may include helping to develop digital roadmaps or implementing software or hardware solutions.

Internships are flexible (part-time or full-time), paid, and come with support from Made Smarter’s expert advisers.

For SME manufacturers, Made Smarter’s digital internship programme offers immediate, practical support from digitally skilled interns who bring fresh thinking, cutting-edge tools, and the latest technologies into the business. It provides a low-risk way to trial digital solutions while helping companies build future talent pipelines, strengthen sustainability and inclusion efforts, and forge valuable partnerships with universities and research institutions.

For students and graduates, internships offer hands-on experience and real-world application of academic skills, professional development, enhanced employability, networking opportunities, and a clearer path into a career.

Among the manufacturers to benefit from the internship programme is Arden Dies, a die-maker based in Stockport, who took on two interns to develop additive manufacturing (AM) projects.

The experiences gave the company the confidence to invest in a 3D printer, backed by a Made Smarter technology grant. As a result, integrating AM into the firm’s rotary tooling operations has accelerated production by 75%, increased in-house productivity, and reduced external costs. Arden has now even established a small AM department for R&D to prototype new ideas.

Sarah Poynter, Operations Director, said: “Working with Made Smarter has highlighted the importance of investing in people and skills to drive that technology and make us more efficient.

“The digital interns that Made Smarter supported us with have really helped accelerate our adoption of 3D printing. As emerging experts in their fields, they also introduced us to technology, processes, and materials we weren’t aware of. This enabled us to bring things to market a lot quicker than we would have done otherwise. They have also been able to mentor and share their skills across the business to embed that knowledge.

“The internship scheme from Made Smarter is a fantastic initiative that provides the students with valuable practical experience within the industry, while organizations like us can benefit from their expertise as we adopt new and emerging technologies into our workflow.”

Fabricon Design, an Ashton-Under-Lyne-based business using advanced manufacturing methods to produce innovative plastics, aluminium, and steel component designs, is another success story from the programme.

The company was matched through Made Smarter to Luke Hickson, a master’s postgraduate studying Industrial Digitalisation at Manchester Metropolitan University. With impressive work on university projects using CAD design and 3D printing, he secured a permanent job as a design and development engineer. After almost two years at Fabricon, Luke has progressed in his career and is now an Additive Manufacturing Engineer for Bentley Motors.

Luke said: “Since I was young, I’ve had ambitions to become an engineer. My internship at Fabricon Design was a turning point – it gave me hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and real-world projects. That foundation helped me grow into my subsequent roles.”

Donna Edwards, Programme Director for Made Smarter, said: “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the impact our Digital Internship Programme has had – bringing fresh energy, ideas, and digital know-how into manufacturing businesses across the North West.

“Phase one showed just how powerful this model can be, not only helping manufacturers embrace new technologies and improve productivity, but also giving students and graduates that all-important first step into the industry.

“With national funding now in place, phase two is set to go even further – offering more opportunities for businesses to access fully funded support and for young people to gain meaningful, paid experience that can kickstart their careers.

“This is about building confidence on both sides – giving manufacturers the skills to take digital forward, and developing the next generation of talent to drive the future of UK manufacturing.”

Since its inception in 2019, Made Smarter has supported over 2,500 manufacturers in the North West, providing access to expert digital advice, technology adoption roadmaps, and workforce development opportunities.

To find out more about digital internship opportunities visit: madesmarter.uk/adoption/internship-programme/

Download the new white paper: Digital Internships: How Made Smarter helps SME manufacturers tap into tech talent.