Chemical makers more upbeat
18 Feb 2013
London – Chemical businesses are now upbeat about the prospects for sale volumes over the next 12 months, a business survey conducted by the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) has found.
The chemical sector survey, which is conducted every quarter, saw a rise in confidence amongst business leaders in the industry as 46% now expect higher sales volumes while only 19% say they may see a decline.
The assessment is in marked contrast to recent forecasts by other manufacturers and business leaders: the CBI and EEF, for example, predicting a fairly flat business growth curve for 2013.
“In what will be a challenging year, I am confident that we will not only meet the challenge, but will show how our industry is underpinning growth,” insisted Steve Elliott, chief executive of the CIA – the main trade association for chemical and pharmaceutical businesses in the UK.
The CIA survey asked about skills and training, members said they make considerable efforts to train their staff, where 46% give new graduate employees a training scheme lasting a year or more.
Non-graduates are also well catered for. Only 17% of respondents offered no training scheme, while 38% had arranged a course in collaboration with a local university or college, 21% together with other local companies, and 25% entirely from within their own resources. Over 70% had drawn on the facilities offered by NSAPI/COGENT.
The most popular initiative backed by 83% of respondents, was for government to advance the skills agenda is to encourage ‘sandwich’ courses so that chemistry/chemical engineering undergraduates spend time in industry.
Other popular suggestions, each commanding 50% or more backing, were more supportive of apprenticeships with part-time courses in further education colleges and to provide better vocational education in schools.
Around a third expressed support for changes to earlier education by providing more rigorous STEM curriculum in schools with more emphasis on the three Rs.
It is important that the chemical and pharmaceutical industry is recognised as key to the economy, concluded Elliott: “We contribute £80 million everyday to the UK economy, spend £5 billion each year on research and development, provide employment for over half a million people in well paid jobs and we are the UK’s number one manufacturing exporter.”
