SMALL to medium firms in Worcestershire have been given a major boost after a new £9.7m business support initiative officially went live.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), which is funded by ERDF and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions (EGS), is promising to fill the void left by MAS by providing access to specialist assistance to help firms grow and improve.

The MGP features a 19-strong network of experienced manufacturing growth managers, access to industry specialists, and the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £3,500.

Support can be used for leadership and management training, R&D, lean manufacturing, productivity and capacity, quality systems and supply chain development.

It is open to all small medium enterprise manufacturers in Worcestershire.

“Since MAS was abruptly axed at the end of 2015, manufacturers have not had access to a support programme that is tailored to their exact requirements and delivered by people who know the sector,” explained Lorraine Holmes, chief executive officer of EGS.

“This has all changed with the official launch of MGP and we now have funding in place to help firms tackle operational issues, make the most of new opportunities and boost the skills of their workforce.

“The programme has to be delivered by March 2019 so we want companies to come forward and take advantage of this assistance. It’s never been easier as the process is quick and the scope of support can be tailored to meet the exact needs of the business.

"We have spent the last three months getting our full team in place, but even during that stage we have started to roll-out the initiative, working with lots of companies already."

MGP’s network of manufacturing growth managers will be the first point of call and will work with firms on completing a strategic business review and developing an action plan.

This will highlight the areas of improvement required and, from there, a number of industry specialists will be explored before the client chooses the expert they want to work with to complete the project.

The programme, which offers grants of 35 per cent of the total project cost, is also working closely with a number of LEPs and their respective Growth Hubs to ensure manufacturers are signposted to other initiatives that may be able to help.

For more details on the programme visit manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk.