Cork City’s Local Economic and Community Plan 2024 - 2029
10.5 Case Study: benchspace benchspace Cork is Ireland's first, shared creative manufacturing facility. As a social enterprise, it provides graduates and startup creative businesses with the resources and community needed to start new ventures. This provides clear career paths and prevents the loss of skilled individuals from the sector. benchspace’s multidisciplinary workshops have professional manufacturing equipment in woodwork, fine metal work and digital design and fabrication. The workshops are run in modular open-plan studios. benchspace connects the people with the equipment, affordable space and resources they need to commercialise their abilities, grow new enterprise, and stimulate economic activity in the southwest region. It allows people to grow their business from the kitchen table to a professional environment surrounded by like-minded businesses. Over 850 people have trained in benchspace in 2023. benchspace hopes to increase this to 1,000 people in 2024 and in the coming years to move to a bigger facility, scaling its operations in Cork City.
To learn more check out the video: https://vimeo.com/806426788
Find out more: https://benchspacecork.ie/ QE @benchspacecork
Figure 10.1: A jewellery worker at one of benchspace’s shared manufacturing work benches.
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