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The Habit of Talking Down Manufacturing Ignores Sector Success
01 Jun 2005
"We need to become better at celebrating success, and move away from the habit of talking down manufacturing. If we do not address recruitment, and the negative perception of the industry, which is not in line with how the sector had changed over the years, we will increasingly fail to compete against low cost competition", says Arthur Richardson of the SWMAS.
By increasing awareness of the many good things that manufacturers are doing, we will create well-deserved pride in the industry. We need to inspire and motivate individuals working in the industry, and also those considering a career in the sector.
Despite our long tradition of manufacturing and engineering, there is an acute shortage of people entering the profession. It is key, therefore, that we work to attract and keep people in manufacturing not discourage them. Last year 1,000 engineering and manufacturing graduates entered the workforce in the UK compared to 35,000 in China.
The potential skills and recruitment crisis in UK manufacturing is fuelled by the sector's ageing workforce. Many production line processes still involve working with legacy products which are handled by mature, traditionally skilled workers. And, as this workforce ages, the window of opportunity to bring in new blood in order to transfer these skills will diminish.
To see what SWMAS is already doing to help the manufacturing community in the South West visit www.swmas.co.uk.
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