Canterbury Christ Church University wins £200,000 grant to close robotics skills gap
What's the deal? Canterbury Christ Church University has secured a £200,000 grant from Innovate UKDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, to launch a regional robotics skills network across the South East of England.
Who's involved? The university leads the project, called RAISE-SE (Robotics Adoption, Industry Skills and Engagement — Southeast). It brings together a consortium including EKC Group, Didactic Services, Future Skills CIC, AmphenolDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and HSSMI ConsultingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the money for? The partners will run a coordinated programme of professional development, outreach, and employer engagement. The goal is to speed the adoption of robotics and automation across the region while tackling technician-level skills shortages.
Why now? The South East is home to more than 1.36 million businesses, 99.3% of them small and medium-sized enterprises, yet many struggle to access the technical skills needed to adopt emerging technologies.
What's the endgame? The consortium wants to connect industry needs with education and training. "It represents a significant investment in the South East's future workforce," said Abbie Kempe, director of enterprise, research and innovation services at the university.
The signal: As automation and digital tools become central to productivity, the funding reflects a wider push to close the gap between employer demand and available higher-level technical skills.
Read more: kentinvictachamber.co.uk
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
