It’s no surprise to First Call to be told that British manufacturing is currently thriving, in fact Britain is now producing more manufactured products than in 1966, during which employment within manufacturing was at a peak. Clever strategies created by companies have ensured the industries current growth, however, the shortage of skills put the future of the industry in uncertainty.
As a country, the UK’s manufacturing sector is now seen to be information rich, design intensive and producers of high valued products. John Bryson, from the University of Birmingham has said, despite current manufacturing success stories “there is a huge threat to the continued survival and competitiveness of British manufacturing. This threat involves hard-to-fill vacancies and skill shortages that will make it extremely difficult for firms to grow and in some cases even continue to survive as companies find it increasingly difficult to recruit commercially aware engineers and other forms of skilled labour.”
Bryson goes on to explain that in order to tackle this issue now, targeting students at GCSE and A level needs to be at the forefront of the industries mind. Creating the opportunity for specialised training and making working in the manufacturing sectors a more attractive career option will help to encourage individuals into the industry.
Bryson expects that “over the next five years there will be around 90,000 hard-to-fill manufacturing jobs in the West Midlands alone that could be filled by people with the right skills and expertise”
With manufacturing at a high, First Call are proud to be working with some of the industries’ key players to provide excellent staff for a variety of roles.
If you would like to know how First Call could help you as an individual or as a business, please contact us here.