Member Article

AppLearn expand and create 150 Manchester jobs

150 jobs will be created at East Manchester’s digital content production hub, The Sharp Project, after a studio lease was signed at their new green screen suite this week.

AppLearn, who is an existing tenant at The Sharp Project, has expanded its capacity at the complex in its recently unveiled suite of purpose-built studios.

The company provides user adoption improvement services for talent and performance management systems, and was founded in May 2011 before moving into The Sharp Project in February 2012.

Up to 150 jobs could be created by 2017 as a result of the expansion, while AppLearn also announced it will double its office size in The Sharp Project to 2,690 sq ft.

The business currently exports 97% of its products overseas and has a series of major international clients, including Vancouver-based GoldCorp, Hudbay Minerals in Canada and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Hong Kong.

Mark Barlow, founder and chief executive of AppLearn said: “Our service is particularly attractive to global companies that have large numbers of employees, across a number of countries, and need to communicate the same messages and deliver consistent training quickly and cheaply in multiple languages.

“A facility like this at The Sharp Project is essential to allow us to expand so we can meet demand. These studios, the only dedicated fully sound-proofed green screen suite in the UK, will enable us to create training videos on an industrial scale.

“If we use the studios on a 5 day week, 8 hour day basis, we will be able to create 50,000 training tutorials a year. If this turns into a 24/7 operation then the capacity could double.”

Manchester City Council’s leader, Sir Richard Leese, said: “This is another example of how public investment can stimulate job creation.

“AppLearn’s story so far is staggering and this is just the beginning for them. If we can help provide facilities to allow companies like AppLearn to grow, the wider benefits to the local economy are far-reaching.”

Sue Woodward OBE, director of The Sharp Project, added: “This is a fantastic example of the public and private sector working together to help a local company perform on a global stage.

“AppLearn’s growth has been phenomenal and in two short years they’ve become a world leader in their field and it’s incredible to think it all started here at The Sharp Project.

“These new green screen studios will complement the other production facilities we have on site and open up exciting opportunities for new and existing tenants in a range of creative disciplines.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .