The West Midlands has launched a regional reindustrialisation strategy with a further £18.4m for its Business Energy Advice Service, a Battery Manufacturing Taskforce and a pilot intended to help skilled workers move into growing industries.
Mayor Richard Parker presented the Reindustrialisation Blueprint at the West Midlands Growth Summit in Coventry on 8 October, alongside Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. The strategy addresses how the region can retain more manufacturing activity, jobs and investment arising from British research and technological development.
The West Midlands Combined Authority says the region has strengths across manufacturing, engineering and innovation, but companies seeking to expand production face challenges involving energy, capital, suppliers and skilled labour.
The additional £18.4m supports an existing Business Energy Advice Service. Parker said the programme had already helped almost 4,000 businesses, an account of previous activity rather than a result achieved through the newly announced allocation.
Energy costs influence the economics of industrial production, particularly for processes requiring substantial electricity or heat. Investment in more efficient equipment or operational changes can help some manufacturers reduce consumption, though savings depend on the technologies involved, implementation costs and subsequent use.
The expanded service is intended to help businesses investigate those opportunities. The announcement does not specify that every firm will receive financial assistance or establish a universal level of energy savings.
The Battery Manufacturing Taskforce addresses a different constraint: connecting regional research and technical expertise with investment in production. The region already hosts relevant capabilities through organisations including the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and Warwick Manufacturing Group.
Research and demonstration facilities can support product development and testing, but factories require additional investment in equipment, supply arrangements, premises and workforce capacity. The taskforce is intended to bring together participants capable of addressing those commercial and technical requirements.
Its establishment is not an announcement that a new battery factory has secured funding, planning approval or commenced operations. Those outcomes would require separate agreements and investment decisions.
A Talent Transition Pilot will concentrate on workers whose skills may be relevant to growing industries as established manufacturing activities change. Experience in engineering, maintenance, production operations and quality assurance can transfer between sectors, although employees may need additional training for particular equipment or standards.
Employers seeking specialist workers must identify the skills they need, while those considering a career change require credible information about vacancies, qualifications and conditions. The pilot has been announced, but no completed placements or employment outcomes have been reported.
The blueprint also sits alongside more than £12m of combined public and private investment announced through the government’s DRIVE35 programme. The West Midlands Combined Authority identifies support for three manufacturing businesses, including projects involving electric vehicles, powertrain tooling and lightweight metal components.
That amount is a combined public-and-private figure reported by the authority, not an additional £12m government grant or part of the £18.4m energy service allocation. The sum covers particular manufacturing projects and should not be added to the region-wide energy advice allocation as though both were single government grants.
Individual investments made through DRIVE35 should also be distinguished from the blueprint’s region-wide policy measures. The manufacturing support forms one element of the industrial environment the authority is seeking to develop, while the energy advice, battery taskforce and workforce pilot have wider application.
The combined authority reports that manufacturing supports approximately 273,000 jobs and generates around £22bn of annual output in the West Midlands. These figures describe the existing industrial base, not new employment or production attributable to the October summit.
Alongside established automotive activity, the region contains companies involved in metals, machinery, specialised engineering and emerging technologies. Parker cited businesses including Lawton Tubes, Aurrigo and Maeving as examples of local industrial capabilities.
New manufacturing operations need access to several resources at once. A company may possess commercially promising technology but struggle to expand without suitable premises, affordable energy, skilled employees or customers willing to place orders at the volumes required.
The blueprint’s measures are intended to help address those related constraints, complementing national industrial strategy programmes and existing regional business support. Their effectiveness will depend on programme delivery, eligibility and whether companies make commercially sustainable investments.
Further operational details, including how organisations can access assistance and how performance will be assessed, will determine the value of the announced support. The October summit established the strategic direction and several specific measures, rather than evidence that the region has already secured all the factories or employment it hopes to attract.
Progress will be measured by business participation, improvements achieved through energy advice, successful workforce transitions and manufacturing investment that leads to sustained production and employment in the West Midlands.
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