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From MACH 2026, TCT 3Sixty to new Autodesk accreditation and funded routes for service leavers, here is what 3D 360 Skills Training has been building over the past three months.
3D printing, 3D CAD and digital manufacturing are not niche skills for specialists in a single field.
They are tools used every day across healthcare, aerospace, automotive, architecture, defence, education, product design, nuclear and many more sectors. A medical device prototype, a component for a nuclear facility, a custom part for an aircraft, a scale model for a construction project: the underlying skills that make all of these possible are the same. 3D 360 Skills Training exists to make those skills accessible to individuals and employers regardless of the industry they work in, and to do it quickly. As part of the newly launched 360 Skills Training family, a group of specialist brands united around rapid upskilling in critical industries, a lot has moved forward over the past three months.
Where the sector is talking
Advanced manufacturing is a community as much as an industry, and the conversations happening at its events matter. Over the past quarter we have been active at MACH 2026 in the STEM Zone, at TCT at the NEC Birmingham alongside Additive Manufacturing UK, and at the Sanjay Mortimer Foundation RepRap Festival 2026, where a full weekend of exhibiting, speaking and collaboration brought together some of the sharpest minds in 3D printing and making. And, in fact many other local and regional events. Too many to mention!
We also delivered a session on why neurodivergent thinking is a natural fit for engineering and manufacturing, a conversation worth having in any room talking about how to widen access to the sector.
As judges for the Engineers Without Borders UK and Additive Manufacturing UK Amplify Student Competition, we also saw first-hand the quality of thinking coming through from the next generation.
More routes in, more routes up
For individuals considering a career in advanced manufacturing, and for employers looking to support career changers and service leavers into their teams, the accreditations earned this quarter open up meaningful new options.
Autodesk Accredited Training Centre status at our Whitehaven and Leigh sites means learners can access industry-standard software training that employers recognise.
Approval as a CTP Preferred Supplier and an ELCAS Learning Provider means that armed forces personnel transitioning into civilian careers are closer to funded, structured routes into Advanced Manufacturing through 360 Skills Training, with providers and programmes that meet the standards those individuals deserve.
Skills that work from day one
The businesses and individuals that engage with 3D 360 Skills Training are not looking for lengthy programmes with uncertain outcomes. They need skills that are practical, portable and immediately applicable across whatever industry or role they work in. A designer in a product agency, a technician in a hospital, an engineer in a nuclear supply chain business, a maker setting up their own workshop: 3D and digital skills open doors in all of them.
Programmes covering 3D printing, 3D CAD, Industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing are available with funded, employer-led and bespoke options.
