By George Germaine, Director of Global Quality
Continuous improvement is often associated with solving problems. In reality, some of the most meaningful improvements happen when teams continue learning long after the initial solution has been defined.
That was the experience of the team at our Stockport, UK, site.
What began during President’s Week as an effort to identify seven core manufacturing skills evolved into a broader initiative focused on workforce development, along with flexibility and long-term growth.
Rethinking Manufacturing Skills
As operations grow and product portfolios expand, workforce agility becomes increasingly important.
The Stockport team recognized that training models centered on individual products can limit flexibility across manufacturing areas. The goal was to create a skills-based framework that would support employee development while building the capability needed to scale with future growth.
The initiative started with seven core manufacturing skills.
As the team worked with subject matter experts and mapped those skills to products and processes, they discovered the requirements were more complex than originally anticipated. What began as seven capabilities ultimately expanded to twenty-one distinct skill areas, each supported by competency levels, learning pathways, assessments, and development plans.
Rather than forcing the original framework to fit, the team adapted based on what they learned.
That decision became the defining moment of the project.
Building Capability for the Future
One of the most significant outcomes was a shift from reactive training to proactive capability building.
Instead of waiting for product transfers or growth initiatives to create training needs, the framework focuses on developing transferable skills that can be applied across products, technologies, and manufacturing areas. This approach helps employees broaden their capabilities while creating a more agile workforce prepared to support evolving business needs.
Making that shift required collaboration across the site. Employees from manufacturing, engineering, quality, maintenance, and training worked together to define requirements, capture expertise, and build scalable learning resources. The team also strengthened the foundation for future development by reducing outdated training documents by 25%, implementing AI-assisted content development tools, and expanding digital learning capabilities. Together, these improvements created structured learning pathways that accelerate training and improve consistency, making critical knowledge more accessible across the organization.
The initiative demonstrated the power of combining technology with operational expertise. Digital tools helped accelerate development, while employees ensured the knowledge being captured reflected real-world experience and could be shared with future generations of talent.
Creating a Foundation for Growth
The framework is already helping increase workforce flexibility.
Employee transfers between Light Engines and Precision Manufacturing are underway, enabling employees to broaden their capabilities while supporting changing operational needs.
For employees, the framework creates clearer development pathways and opportunities to build skills that can open doors to new experiences across the site.
According to Site Leader David Primhak, Stockport’s continued growth requires teams that can adapt across different products and technologies while maintaining high standards of quality and delivery performance. He also highlighted the enthusiasm employees have shown for expanding their skills and contributing to the site’s ongoing transformation.
Continuous Improvement Doesn’t End with the Event
Perhaps the most important outcome was not the framework itself. It was the mindset behind it.
Continuous improvement is not about executing a plan exactly as originally envisioned. It is about learning, adapting, and improving until the solution truly meets the need.
In Stockport, seven skills became twenty-one.
More importantly, a President’s Week Kaizen became a catalyst for continuous learning and cross-functional collaboration, leading to shared success across the site. It stands as a strong example of The Novanta Way, where continuous improvement, teamwork, and shared success create lasting impact.