A new fully funded training programme is opening this autumn for Somerset manufacturing and production businesses looking to build their skills in robotics and AI, with places limited and interest already building ahead of the first cohort.

The AI-Ready Robotics Workforce Programme is delivered by UWE Bristol through the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, in partnership with the United Strategic Planning Centre. Over 10 weeks, delivered one day per week at the Laboratory, the programme combines hands-on training in industrial and collaborative robotics with practical applications of AI, covering robot programming, diagnostics and improvements to manufacturing systems and processes.

Participants get access to cutting-edge facilities, expert researchers and real-world industry technologies, a level of access that would typically be out of reach for many SMEs outside a fully funded programme like this.

The programme is designed for manufacturing technicians, engineers and team leaders, particularly those within manufacturing and production SMEs. It’s aimed at helping people build the practical skills and confidence needed to adopt, operate and maintain robotic systems within their own workplace, supporting greater productivity, resilience and automation readiness.

For Somerset’s manufacturing businesses, automation and AI adoption are increasingly central to staying competitive, but the cost and complexity of accessing proper training can be a real barrier, especially for smaller firms. A fully funded programme delivered at a facility of this calibre removes much of that barrier, giving technicians and engineers direct, practical experience they can bring straight back into their own operations.