Enginuity launches free workforce planning programme to help SMEs ‘Strategise to Thrive’

Enginuity is proud to launch Strategise to Thrive, a fully funded programme that will give SMEs the tools, knowledge and confidence to build sustainable workforce strategies. The initiative is part of Enginuity’s charitable mission to make high-quality workforce planning training accessible to all. 

Making workforce planning achievable for SMEs 

Strategic workforce planning is critical for long-term success, yet many SMEs find training either too expensive or too impractical for their day-to-day reality. Strategise to Thrive is designed to overcome those barriers with a flexible, modular approach that requires just 14 hours of virtual learning across seven online sessions over six months. 

Participants will gain skills in: 

• Assessing current workforce capabilities 
• Aligning workforce planning with business strategy 
• Analysing future workforce demand 
• Identifying gaps in skills and capacity 
• Building bespoke action plans to close those gaps 

The programme is open exclusively to UK engineering and manufacturing organisations with fewer than 250 employees and is aimed at individuals responsible for workforce planning.  

The advantages for SMEs 

By completing Strategise to Thrive, SMEs will leave with a baseline assessment of their workforce planning capabilities, alongside access to tailored tools to strengthen succession planning, recruitment , and employee retention. 

With new UK immigration rules requiring businesses to show more robust evidence of skills shortages when hiring internationally, the programme is also designed to help SMEs comply with these rules whilst recruiting. . 

Research shows the impact can be significant. HR.com reports that effective workforce planning tools can cut costs by 6–10% within a year, save up to 80% of scheduling time, and reduce overtime and compliance risks. 

Real-world results 

The benefits are already clear in organisations that have invested in workforce development. For example, Birmingham-based SME Brandauer, saw an eight-year reduction in the average age of its workforce after prioritising training and succession planning. Today, 65% of its management team started as apprentices, and 25 young people aged 14–19 have engaged with the business, with five progressing to apprenticeships, two of whom went on to win national industry awards. 

These results demonstrate how structured workforce planning not only strengthens business resilience but also attracts and retains the next generation of talent. 

Flexible, fully funded training 

The Strategise to Thrive programme helps to overcome these barriers by offering a modular training approach with just 14 hours of virtual contact time, during 7 online sessions, over a 6-month period.  

The programme is also fully funded by Enginuity, which includes the cost of all the training and access to all the tools and resources.  

Enginuity is planning to commence the programme on 22 October 2025, with applications open until 10 October 2025 for the first cohort.  

The 20 available places will be allocated to eligible employers on a first-come, first-served basis, and you can apply via the link below. 

Investing in the future of engineering 

Claire Aspinall, Impact and Delivery Manager at Enginuity, comments: “SMEs are the backbone of engineering and manufacturing, yet many struggle to find the time or resources for workforce planning. Strategise to Thrive was designed to change that.” 

With the engineering and manufacturing sector facing rapid change and an ongoing skills gap crisis, Strategise to Thrive aims to ensure SMEs are not left behind, but instead are equipped to adapt, compete and thrive. 

Discover more and apply