Introducing the Manchester Innovation Activities Hub (MIAH)

The Blair Project and its partners Manchester Science Park and Bruntwood have been awarded £4 million of central government funding to create a new Innovation Activities Hub in Manchester (MIAH) to provide rapid upskilling, reskilling and retraining of local residents and fast track them into hard-to-fill occupations requiring specialist technical skills as part of Greater Manchesters’ post COVID recovery plan. https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/shovel-ready-greater-manchester-building-projects-boosted-by-54m-of-government-funding/

The Blair Project, which will run and operate the MIAH Centre is acting as a local intermediary for the government’s £2 billion Kickstart Scheme. Further information for individuals and employers can be found here.

The MIAH Centre will be quite unique in the UK, providing a dedicated technical and vocational training space within a major inner-city multi-ethnic residential community, to grow an integrated pipeline for talent and skills and support innovative growing companies and individuals who need sustainable jobs as a result of Covid.

The hub, which forms part of the City Region’s post COVID recovery plan will target unemployed youth (Kickstart Scheme), low income residents as well as professionals who’ve recently lost their jobs. MIAH will prepare them for skilled employment within the low carbon, advanced manufacturing, tech and health innovation sectors. Opening in Summer 2023, there will be 5000 beneficiaries over the next 5 years.

MIAH is an approved Cisco Netcad Academy and will work with a number of partners to provide industry standard training and accreditation in Digital Design, 3D printing, Software & Programming, Cyber Security, AI, Sensors & Process Control, AR/VR,  Low Carbon Propulsion, Batteries and Energy Storage Technologies such as Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Automation, App Development

In addition, the centre will provide a modern collaboration and rapid industrial prototyping space for SMEs to invent, design, build, prototype and innovate at speed, commercialise university R&D, and develop the workforce they need to embed innovation and remain competitive.