www.bis.gov.uk/seeinsidemanufacturing
A Guide for Business
This guidance and information may aid you in putting in place the main
elements of its overall planning.
The internet will also be a source of ideas and background material.
You have decided that you would like to run a See Inside Manufacturing
event. What next?
Engage with schools and universities
- be clear over your preferred See Inside Manufacturing audience amongst
young people and the framework of a site visit/tour. For advice on structuring
your visit see here (link to visit structure & activity suggestions section). What
degree of emphasis will you place on Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) skills and career opportunities and pathways both within
your company and its sector?
- draw upon company records over school/college contacts to secure potential
other school/college names. Also draw upon the knowledge of staff and their
families.
- the local authority along with local/regional business associations and any
community centres will also be able to advise on the range of local
school/colleges and initial contact (teacher or career adviser). This will
enable you to draw up a short list for initial contact.
- arrange an initial meeting / conversation between your company and a
potential school/college to be ivolved will help to clarify mutual interest,
feasibility, benefits, timing, group size(s) and visit duration, skills focus and
format.
- once an overall visit outline agreement is in place between your company
and the college/school such aspects as publicity, any local dignitary
attendance, health and safety, roles of participating company staff and
teachers/career advisers, site visit structure can be addressed more fully.
www.bis.gov.uk/seeinsidemanufacturing
Engage with Business bodies
- Trade associations: a company holding an event is listed on a sector body’s
website. Each sector body can supply further See Inside Manufacturing
guidance. To aid that, your respective sector body greatly welcomes early
details from each See Inside Manufacturing participating firm about:- any other outreach activity already being undertaken
- an intention to arrange a new, SIM specific event.
- BIS: BIS provides guidance via the See Inside Manufacturing website and
resource pack primarily on wider issues linked to See Inside Manufacturing
programme delivery at individual company sites.
- BIS Local: BIS has a network of six teams in England set up to drive
economic growth at local level. They help support the delivery of BIS policy on
the ground. Fuller details are at www.bis.gov.uk
- EEF: The manufacturers association, for more details, see website at
www.eef.org.uk
- STEMNET: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network
, for more details, see website at www.stemnet.org.uk
Some more specific aspects for adaption into your company’s planning are
listed in the ‘Tips’ section just below.
Ten tips over hosting and planning an Open Day

Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. Happy visitors will be
a good advertisement!

Set deadlines and stick to them – especially if you are co-ordinating a
number of Open Days and visiting groups.

Be imaginative, but realistic, don’t overstretch yourself – leave lots of
time to get things done.

Ensure site information is accurate and up-to-date, and everyone
knows who’s doing what – and by when.

Capture the imagination - storytelling can enthral, projecting archive
films/photos can engage.

Think about linking in with anniversaries and other opportunities to
create a theme, story or a new spin on an event.

Organise a media launch/photo call and think about inviting your local
MP, a councillor, local dignitary…Ask your local paper to give you
coverage listing your event as an in-kind sponsorship.

Think of different angles and exclusive stories for different media and
journalists.

Something to remember host by - tangible mementos encourage
return: postcards, leaflets, certificates, badges etc.

Evaluation: plan how to capture feedback to inspire future activities.
www.bis.gov.uk/seeinsidemanufacturing
Timeline for organising your event
Organising a visit to your company will require thought, commitment and
planning to ensure that both you and your visitors get the most from it.
Allow plenty of time to organise your visit, people are busy with their “day
jobs” and will need time to take on any extra activities. Three months should
be a reasonable time frame in which to organise the visit.
Listed below are some key aspects and stages you will need to consider to
manage and promote your event.
12 weeks to go
 agree the date for visit
 consider the programme
 identify who will be involved
 plans for promote the event
 indentify the key actions to be taken and set deadlines.
10 Weeks to go
 confirm the outline of your event
 if you are considering involving external people i.e. your local MP/
media/celebrities confirm their attendance
5 weeks to go
 visit programme finalised
 logistics and programme discussed with all who will be involved on the
day
 ensure all internal procedure requirements are in place.
4 weeks to go
 send out any promotional material both internally and externally.
 send out invitations/guidance/ support material as appropriate.
2 weeks to go
 double check all arrangements
1 week to go
 make any fine tune adjustments as required
Enjoy the event!
www.bis.gov.uk/seeinsidemanufacturing
Visit structure & activity suggestions
There isn’t a one size fits all approach to organising and hosting a See Inside
Manufacturing visit, but there are key elements that can be used to ensure
your event is as successful as possible.
Have a senior member of team there to welcome your guests and outline the
day. This will make your guests feel valued from the moment they arrive and
set the tone for the rest of the visit.
Make sure all involved are aware of health and safety procedures.
Identify one person who will remain with the group throughout the visit to act
as the main contact point. This helps to provide a smoother transition if you
have a number of different departments to visit.
If possible have a member of staff, such as an apprentice to give your guests
a view from the production floor.
Set aside time for a Q&A session with your company’s representatives. This
time can also be used to obtain feedback on how the visit went, maybe over
lunch or a light refreshment break.
Use activities to encourage interaction and engagement with and between
your guests. Perhaps a competition, watching a member of staff undertaking a
specific activity or providing examples of products that can be they can be
held / touched.
.
The closing of the visit is your last chance to make an impression so make it
memorable. A simple thank you to your guests for taking the time to attend
may be enough, if you are happy for further engagement make this clear. Do
you have any materials that they can take away with them that could be used
to facilitate further discussion back in the classroom?
The feedback forms which have been provided on the See Inside
Manufacturing website should be given out at this point to be completed and
left with you before they leave.
Evaluation of your event(s)
Feedback forms to be completed by teachers / careers advisors and students
attending your visit can be found in the resource section of the website here.
- All participants should be given a feedback form and return to you at
the end of the visit.
- The provision of consistent questions means that you do not need to
produce your own bespoke form.
- These forms should be returned to BIS at the address below within x
days of the event taking place?
- This information will then be evaluated to form a bigger picture readout
from the events.
- As with all things statistics more returns will equal better quality data
being provided.
www.bis.gov.uk/seeinsidemanufacturing
Remember …. after your successful event
Once the October See Inside Manufacturing programme visits end,
companies could get follow-ups such as requests for information, visits, jobs
availability. Equally, a company may seek to instigate on-going liaison with
schools/colleges. Identify who will handle all these and what other advice is
available from the sector body or BIS web sites.
Please note that BIS retains the right to exclude visits that are not using
this guide / framework from the See Inside Manufacturing programme.