Industry urges renewed focus on manufacturing and skills

He called upon the Labour government to act quickly to reverse the setback, detailed in Make UK’s latest global analysis.

It revealed that the UK’s output puts it in 12^th place internationally, with China in first place followed by the USA, Japan, Germany, India, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Italy, France and Taiwan – marking the first time Britain has not featured in the global list of major manufacturers.

 “This is a major body blow to UK manufacturing. We are home to some of the most innovative manufacturers and research facilities in the world. We must do everything possible to harness this expertise to reinvent ourselves as a manufacturing superpower,” Hoar warned.

Referencing recently announced industrial plans featured in the King’s Speech outlining the new administration’s economic plans, Hoare cited the need to tackle the ongoing skills and labour gaps that have doggered British industry in recent years.

“The government’s plans to change UK manufacturing’s fortunes through a new industrial strategy and key investments from the National Wealth Fund can’t come soon enough,” he urged.

“But, as part of this, a major upskilling and reskilling programme will be critical. Without the right people with the right skills, we won't be able to hit productivity targets, even with the latest ideas, technology and funding in place.”

The skills component of Labour’s plans – outlined in a speech by prime minister Keir Starmer – has already received favourable reaction from some quarters of industry.  Chief executive of Siemens UK & Ireland Carl Ennis welcomed the launch of Skills England saying it showed evidence of a long-term strategy to tackle the issue, including a likely annual demand for more than 100,000 engineers in technology and engineering.

“Government should align the skills strategy with the promised industrial strategy to provide a clear analysis of the jobs we need to fill, the talent we must nurture, and a roadmap for delivery,” advised Ennis. 

In addition to attracting new recruits however, it would be vital to support life-long learning programmes for existing staff and older workers, he added.

“At Siemens we do this by encouraging every employee to complete 50 hours of learning annually to do our best to keep our skills relevant for the challenges ahead.  We know almost every job will evolve over the next 10 years as technology innovation accelerates, and that is where flexibility in deploying the skills levy will greatly help too.”

Pic: thisisengineering