A Macclesfield manufacturer has helped a tech-savvy graduate land a job through paid work experience with Made Smarter.

With many internships and placements being delayed or cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Made Smarter is bucking the trend by offering university students of all levels and graduates the opportunity to get their foot in the door of a forward-thinking company or industry.

Brett Turner, a recent master's postgraduate in Industrial Digitalisation at Manchester Metropolitan University, used his internship as a platform to start his career.

With his academic expertise in 3D printing, he was matched with Lowlife Products, a manufacturer of aftermarket elevating roofs and furniture for leisure vehicles.

The Macclesfield-based SME retrofits 200 vans each year with its Stealth roof design and wanted to adopt 3D laser scanning technology to develop new products.

Brett said: "The internship experience was incredibly valuable simply because I had the chance to see how a manufacturing SME works from the inside. Up until the end of my master's degree, everything had been theoretical. I'd never had the opportunity to go out on-site and see how things were run in real life. It provided invaluable insight."

Brett said the real-life manufacturing experience at Lowlife Products helped him secure a job.

"My digital technology internship placement through Made Smarter proved to be a crucial stepping- stone into employment for me," he said. "I honestly wouldn't be where I am today without it! It really was a great thing to be part of."

Students are paid £5,760 for the 480-hour internships, which can be carried out full-time over three months or part-time to fit around their lectures and course work.

Andy Gosling, director of Lowlife Products, said: "Brett proved to be a valuable member of the team, offering his skills and support the delivery of a technology project to use of CAD systems and 3D-scanning systems to reverse-engineer components in order to create new parts.

"While we were able to teach him a lot about the real practices of manufacturing and engineering, he was able bring a fresh perspective and showed great initiative during a project to manufacture components from moulds by using his contacts at the university to produce vital parts at a significantly lower cost. From an SME's perspective, those sort of contacts and savings are crucial to the business."

Made Smarter - the industry-led, government-backed national movement - has a wealth of small and medium-sized businesses looking to take on digital technology interns.

Donna Edwards, programme director for Made Smarter, said: "It has been fantastic to see so many talented students and graduates helping to realise the technology ambitions of many of the North West's SME manufacturers.

"It's a win-win for the interns and manufacturers. Students and graduates gain industry knowledge, transferable skills and real-life experience, while being paid the national living wage, and businesses can benefit from a fully funded digital native to help them to understand how new technology can transform production.

"The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of opportunities, and a lot of uncertainty as to what will be available in the future.

She added: "Made Smarter has been successful in linking digital technology interns to manufacturers all over the North West and I would encourage undergraduates in their second and third year, postgraduates at any stage of their course and recent graduates from any UK university to register their interest."

For more information visit the Made Smarter website.