‘Bradford Manufacturing Weeks’ Gets Underway with College Engineering Launch Event

Bradford Manufacturing Weeks kicked off in style at a special event hosted at Bradford College’s Engineering Department, Trinity Green Campus.

Run by West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and SkillsHouse, Bradford Manufacturing Weeks brings manufacturers, education institutions, and young people together through tours, work experience, seminars, exhibitions and learning events held at manufacturer premises and key locations across the district. 

The event which also marked National Manufacturing Day drew special business guests and employer partners, including representatives from headline sponsor NatWest Group, University of Bradford, Solenis, SkillsHouse, and Azets.

Guests were welcomed by West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive James Mason, before hearing more about Bradford Manufacturing Weeks. The event was the first to kickstart a massively expanded timetable of activities, beginning in October and running through to March 2025.

NatWest followed with a talk about corporate responsibility before Alastair Wood from Bradford University showcased regional talent pipelines. Business Development & Engagement Manager James Haigh also led a tour of the Bradford College facilities and on-site Bond Bryan Academy.

Mark Cowgill, President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said, “Bradford has one of the finest manufacturing sectors in the country and Bradford Manufacturing Weeks has done so much good work in giving it new blood. Manufacturing can give you a well-paid, secure and incredibly interesting career that can take your work across the planet.”

Bradford Manufacturing Weeks has been led by Bradford Chamber of Commerce and the Bradford & Airedale Manufacturing Alliance for the past six years. Endorsed by Bradford Council, Bradford Economic Partnership, and the University of Bradford, this not-for-profit event has connected 15,000 students in the region to the manufacturing sector, helping to start many careers in the sector.

As part of the launch event, James Haigh unveiled industry-leading equipment recently purchased by Bradford College. The kit was made possible thanks to a £944k Local Skills Improvement Fund investment, helping to meet skills priorities identified in the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).

The state-of-the-art equipment includes a NIKON SLM 3D metal printer, a 4 axis CNC machine from XYZ, Formlabs resin printers, and Solar PV renewable energy and storage training rigs from Quantum Green Skills. In addition, the College purchased multiple Colchester Student Lathes to enhance the engineering workshop.

James said, “We were very proud to host the team at West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce this week to officially mark the start of Bradford Manufacturing Weeks. We cannot wait to run the special event we have planned with our friends and curriculum partners over at Byworth Boilers Ltd for schools in our district in October as part of the celebrations. Alisha Bell at Byworths is an award-winning female engineer, so an inspiration to our students.”

In partnership with Skills House, the schools event will see local secondary pupils aged 11 – 16 participate in a two-day fully EV powered mini go-kart build challenge at Byworth Boilers on 17^th October and at Bradford College Engineering Department on 18^th October.

Students will create designs and use varied manufacturing methods to build the karts and explore innovation and technologies used in commercial motor vehicles. Students will also design body panels for the karts in their team colours. To book student places at the event, email:[email protected] or visit the Chamber website for more details.

For more information on Bradford Manufacturing Weeks and to find out how to get involved visit: Bradford Manufacturing Weeks – West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce (wnychamber.co.uk)