Worcestershire and the West Midlands is building its digital capability fast: 5G, superfast broadband, Wifi6 trials and “digital factories”. Now there is help with training, as the West Midlands Combined Authority launches “Beat the Bots”, a £5 million fund to help SMEs with digital training to upgrade workers’ skills.
But many local businesses are neither fluent in the range of digital tools available, or know the cost and accessibility of these tools – from engineering tools to social media and SEO – nor are they aware of projects that can help them accelerate their digital capability to be future-ready, including grants and funding.
The Engineering Digital Mash Up hosted at Yamazaki Mazak in Worcester on 27 June 2019, is a meeting of up to 100 engineering, manufacturing and technology companies, digital providers and engineering students.
The Engineering Digital Mash Up has been put together through a partnership between the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) and the Worcestershire LEP. It will show SMEs what tools and projects are available, how they can help the business, which tools are free and the cost of others, as well as how to access them. A six-strong panel of local engineering companies that are running digital projects – from increasing sales using digital tools to Wifi6 enabled factories and what 5G does – will share their stories, for SMEs to gain a peer-to-peer experience.
James Selka CEO of the MTA, said “This event is the perfect introduction for SME’s wishing to explore the power of digital manufacturing. 5G will open up so many new opportunities and it is time for companies to embrace these changes and apply them to their businesses.”
He continued “The Engineering Digital Mash Up will provide the perfect opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and we’d encourage companies to join us to find out how technology can add value to your business.”
Workshops: Six workshops in short sessions of 20-minutes will teach you about business data analytics – finding value in the hidden data –, intelligent tooling that selects the perfect tool and material for a job, and legal advice on protecting your IP from cyber attack. Take the Future of Making Readiness Assessment Tool, to gauge how your company is future-ready.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre, a part-government funded body, will show SMEs their programmes including funded projects to help them implement more digital technology and where it actually adds value.
If you want to your company to be better equipped to do business in a digital future, attend the Engineering Digital Mash Up on 27 June. Its free, first-come first-served, c. 60 places left. Register here: https://www.mta.org.uk/event/engineering-digital-mash
