As we head into the summer break, now is a great time to reflect and review what happened and the achievements of the 2026 Leeds Manufacturing Festival to date. 

Highlights included the Leeds Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair in March, which attracted over 11,000 visitors and provided a great platform to promote careers in the sector to young people, followed by a sold-out launch event at Leeds city College Printworks Campus in March.

Keynote speaker Elisa Henderson, early careers co-ordinator at RSE Group, described the importance of mentoring and career development pathways in attracting and retaining next generation talent. With a UK-wide workforce of around 2,000 and an annual intake of over 80 apprentices and 80 graduates, it’s vital the investment pays off.

Elisa was joined by Hannah Wilson, principal at UTC Leeds, Daniel Paterson from employers’ organisation Make UK, Ben Wilson from composites manufacturer MPM Group and an industry panel which included representatives from Schneider Electric, packaging firm Greyhound Box, headline sponsor E3 Recruitment and UTC Leeds student Matthew Sadler.

More headline sponsors and employers have supported the festival than ever before, recognising its role in bringing together industry, education and training providers to address and find practical solutions for the skills challenge facing manufacturing and engineering.

This year’s festival has included factory tours, the Let’s Talk Manufacturing careers panel at Rodillian Academy, a Women in Manufacturing speed networking event for female students at Allerton Grange High School and a Manufacturing Careers Showcase at Leeds City College.

In May we were joined by Dawn Helsby from Schneider Electric and regional chair of the T Level Champions Network, and Andrew Walton, production manager at ACS Stainless, together with a panel of former and current apprentices to look at how T level qualifications and industry placements can provide an opportunity for young people to gain practical workplace experience and a recruitment pathway for employers recruiting to apprenticeship roles.

The finale came in June at the Leeds Manufacturing Festival awards presentation evening, with awards recognising the brightest young talent, employers who are leading the way by investing in next generation talent and ambassadors championing careers in the sector regionally and nationally.

To date the festival has reached over 12,500 people and generated 58 news articles in regional business, education and trade media with a combined circulation of over 13 million.

Our reach via social media has also increased by 19% and more manufacturers have been involved than ever before.

Launched just four years ago, the 2026 Leeds Manufacturing Festival awards attracted 45 nominations from 19 companies, compared to just 17 nominations from 11 companies in the first year.

The growth of the festival reflects growing recognition amongst manufacturing employers in the city that the challenges they face with recruitment, developing next generation talent and skills can only be solved by bringing all the key partners and stakeholders together to promote the sector as an attractive and viable career option for young people.

The festival is far from done and we’ll be back for National Manufacturing Day in September (24/9) and the Careers in Leeds recruitment fair taking place at the beginning of November (3/11).

Keep an eye on the website and follow us on Linked In for more updates coming soon.