Case Study — Manufacturing Academy (Preview)

Manufacturing Academy

← Economic Development

In action · Manufacturing Academy

Standing up a new manufacturing sector: Satellite production.

In partnership with AAC Clyde Space

31entry-level recruits hired

5progressed into management

16positive transitions into the wider industry

1new manufacturing ecosystem created from scratch

The challenge

The jobs arrive before the workforce exists.

Advanced manufacturers building in a new sector face the same wall US communities hit with every reshoring win and greenfield plant: the jobs arrive before the workforce exists. When satellite production — the CubeSat sector — came to the region, there was no ready talent pool to hire from.

The task wasn't just to fill roles. It was to build the pipeline, the skills and the local ecosystem for an entire industry to take root.

What we did

An end-to-end workforce program, first contact to long-term retention.

We designed and delivered the full journey with the employer — covering every step from attracting people who had never considered the sector to keeping them in it.

01 · Attract

Targeted recruitment

Reaching and attracting entry-level candidates into a sector most had never considered.

02 · Train

Skills development

Building the specialized capabilities a precision manufacturing floor demands, from a standing start.

03 · Support

Workplace mentoring

Pairing new hires with the support that turns a first job into a career.

04 · Retain

Aftercare support

Staying with people well past day one, so the investment held and progression happened.

A whole new manufacturing ecosystem, where there had been none.

The result

Thirty-one people entered the industry at entry level. Five progressed into management. Sixteen made positive transitions into the wider sector, carrying their skills across the regional economy. And beyond the headcount, the program helped seed something bigger — a whole new manufacturing ecosystem where there had been none before.

This program was delivered in the UK. The playbook — recruit, train, mentor, retain, and build the ecosystem around the employer — is exactly what American advanced-manufacturing communities need as new plants come online.

Get into action

Bringing an advanced-manufacturing employer to your community?

Tell us the plant, the roles and the timeline — and we'll build you the workforce to fill it.

Build my workforce →

You came for the video. Stay for the plot twist.

Yes, we make video. But behind the camera there's a whole specialist department most people never see—one that doesn't just film economic development programmes… it runs them.

We didn't wander into this. It's in our DNA.

We got our start filming and reporting on economic and regeneration programmes—recording their delivery, capturing the outcomes, and telling the story of what actually worked. Employability, economic regeneration, connecting businesses and people: that world was fundamental to us from day one.

We spent so long inside it that we kept the capability to deliver the programmes ourselves—not just document them. So when we talk about employability and economic development, we're talking from the inside. We've held the camera, and we've run the room.

Meet the CEO

Tony Stapleton

CEO · Economic Regeneration Powerhouse

Tony has spent his career making regeneration something organisations are built around, not bolted on. He's developed national frameworks that build communities and embed regeneration as a driver of institutional, regional and individual progression—turning big ambitions into programmes that change places, and lives.

Meet Fionna Farrell

Head of Economic Development · 20 years in the sector

Fionna is the reason this section exists—and the credibility that makes the whole surprise land. A genuine dual threat, she shapes our economic-development film work so it's guided by someone who truly understands the sector, and she leads the delivery of our specialist programmes in employability and economic development consultancy.

Two strings, one bow

We capture

Video and content for economic development programmes—informed by real sector expertise, not just a crew who turned up on the day.

We deliver

In-person programme delivery and consultancy in employability and economic development, run by our own specialist team.

Who we work with

Full-service capability across every kind of partner.

Government

Corporate

Non-profit

Intrigued? That's rather the point.

Let's talk about the side of us you didn't expect.

Let's talk regeneration →