About Emerging Skills Project
Developing a skilled workforce for future manufacturing

Enabling UK businesses to exploit emerging technologies
Funded by the Department for Education (DfE) as part of the government’s Skills for Jobs plan, the Emerging Skills Project (ESP) will address the future skills gap in manufacturing and the wider engineering workforce.
This pilot, which started in March 2021, uses the technological and industrial know-how of the HVM Catapult (as a Centre of Innovation) to understand the future skills needed for UK manufacturing and and working with Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and others to build training systems and products for these needs to be met. This will enable UK businesses to better exploit emerging technologies and remain competitive.
Join the pilot for learning and growth
Running until March 2022, our pilot project is the first step in a shared journey to a skilled workforce.
We are working with the employer-led engineering skills body Enginuity to maximise industry engagement with the project and its subsequent emerging skills courses. The pilot is open to all with strong encouragement for small and medium-sized enterprises to take part.
Now is the time for you to get involved.
Whether you’re keen to help identify the sector’s future skills needs or are looking to take places on the pilot courses we create, there are many ways to work with us.
Register your interest in upcoming training opportunities by filling out the form below:


Find out how you can deliver training units with Train the Trainer.
Training Units are designed to be delivered through the network of Institutes of Technology (IoTs), Colleges and Training Providers across the country and there’s a Train the Trainer course for each Training Unit. Therefore, if you work in one of these establishments in a training role you should be eligible and, through the project funding, we’ll also pay your employer for each day you attend!
Eligibility
The Emerging Skills Programme has been funded by Department for Education to the end of March 2022. During this time the courses which are available through this website, are at no cost for English employers and training providers, reflecting that education and skills funding is a devolved national activity within government. As the project completes, the learning content will be made available to all UK nations under open government license arrangements, details of which will be published on this website in early 2022.
We will endeavour to support devolved nations’ interest in the shorter term and request that you get in contact to discuss your needs.