Workforce development and skills
Karen Green
Chief People and Skills
Officer, HVM Catapult
A talented and productive workforce is vital for business success.
It must be enabled to adopt and use technologies so that the full benefits of research and innovation can be realised within the UK. A skilled workforce is also a critical enabler for industrial transformation,
underpinning the successful delivery of our strategic priorities. With around 3,500 employees including highly skilled scientists, engineers and technicians and 1,700 apprentices across the network, HVM Catapult is a significant employer, strategic influencer and provider in the UK engineering and manufacturing skills landscape.
Catapults play a vital role due to their expertise in developing and scaling technologies and through convening powers with industry, educators and trainers. HVM Catapult, working with the network and Innovate UK, has developed a portfolio of workforce and skills projects that are targeted at where we add most value across the skills value chain due to our technology expertise.
In 2024/25 there has been a strong focus on clean energy vectors. By working with industry, education and training providers at national and local levels, these projects have increased our ability to understand and respond to future skills needs.
These projects have increased our ability to understand and respond to future skills needs.
We are delivering change through:
Convening
Bringing stakeholders together to address critical skills needs in emerging technologies such as electrification and hydrogen, including:
- The Hydrogen Skills Alliance, co-founded by the National Composites Centre, collaborates with industry partners to address skills gaps in the hydrogen sector. It has identified future workforce requirements through foresighting and enabled the creation of training programmes from basic awareness to specialised roles.
- The Innovate UK Workforce Foresighting Hub, led by the Manufacturing Technology Centre, develops processes and tools to understand and anticipate future skills needs across sectors.
Developing strategic partnerships
We are forging partnerships to develop curriculum content, influence standards and support STEM outreach. Collaboration with industry, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and education providers ensures that standards and training meet industry needs, aligning with Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) and local growth strategies.
Supporting diversity
We are committed to promoting diversity,
including through:
- The Women in Manufacturing initiative, led by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Innovate UK.
- A network of affinity groups that champion diversity and inclusion, supporting individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, the LGBTQ+ community and women, and neurodiversity programmes including those to support young learners.
2025 will be an important year for UK manufacturing and we will continue to build on our portfolio of projects in support of the UK Industrial Strategy to deliver lasting change for industry.
STEM support
In 2023/24 we conducted over 400 outreach events, reaching more than 100,000 young people. These initiatives aim to foster interest in STEM careers and increase awareness of opportunities in the clean energy sector.
Provision of specialist training
Our comprehensive offer includes:
- 248 courses, ranging from basic to advanced levels, designed to enhance workforce capabilities in the competitive clean energy landscape. Our training catalogue features modular short courses and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes.
- Apprenticeships at various levels, with 677 apprentices in training across the network during 2023/24.
- Collaborative doctoral training (CDT) programmes and specialised initiatives like CPI’s RNA Academy.