3D 360 skills training achieves the national matrix standard

3D 360 Skills Training, which delivers DWP funded 3D Printing, CAD and Industry 4.0 skills bootcamps open to businesses and individuals across Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria and Merseyside, has been confirmed as meeting the matrix standard, the national quality mark for information, advice and guidance.

The assessment, carried out by The Growth Company on behalf of the Department for Education between 26 August and 7 September 2026, found the standard fully met, with the next review due in 2029.

Paul Bullock, Managing Director of 360 Skills Training, said: “Achieving the matrix standard is important to us because good training is about much more than delivering technical content and a qualification.

"It's about helping people understand where their skills can take them, giving them informed and impartial guidance, and creating a genuine pathway into employment, progression or a new career.”

The matrix standard is an independent check on how well an organisation supports people to make informed decisions about learning, skills and work. Assessors spoke with 3D 360's staff, learners and employer partners, and reviewed the full learner journey from first enquiry through to progression into employment. They found that advice and guidance is built into every stage of a bootcamp, delivered by trainers with direct industry experience rather than a separate careers team.

For Lancashire employers weighing up the DWP funded skills bootcamps for their teams, matrix accreditation is independent assurance that the advice given to staff meets a recognised national standard, at a time when the UK's manufacturing industries need roughly 148,000 more people by 2035. The curriculum and guidance are shaped directly by employer partners, including advanced manufacturing businesses such as Novus, so training stays tied to genuine industry need rather than generic careers content.

More than 2,500 learners have trained with 3D 360 to date, with 85 per cent progressing into higher employment and 97 per cent saying they would recommend the training. Recent learners have included a graduate struggling to find work, an IT project manager moving into nuclear, and a family graphic design business owner retraining in 3D printing. Few would describe themselves as manufacturers, yet that's precisely what they become: turning a digital design into a physical part with 3D printing and CAD is manufacturing, whatever they choose to call it.

A third of learners are aged over 50, showing a career change into 3D printing and CAD is open at any stage of working life.