Giving the image of manufacturing a makeover

This month, PMMDA Chairman, Nigel Flowers, writes exclusively for BP&R on the economy, investment and making manufacturing appeal to the masses.

Recently there has been more good news for the UK. Not only the Lions, Murray, the cricket and the new Royal arrival but the UK economy has now had two quarters of growth.  This is great news, however UK manufacturing output is still far below the heady heights of 2007.  Talking to PPMDA members, we are experiencing more investment across the industry – especially in the automotive sector. 

The PMMDA has recently completed a membership survey, and the consensus seems to be that the key services required from PMMDA membership centres around market intelligence, networking and training opportunities.  Over the coming weeks, we’ll be analysing the results to ensure the services the association offers, meet members’ needs.  Watch this space.

We all realise that the future of our industry is dependent on a skilled workforce. More and more companies are waking up to the importance of apprenticeships but according to ATG Group, a local training provider, surprisingly many advanced apprenticeship vacancies are going unfilled. It is reported that the quality of the applicants is not high enough and it’s nothing to do with education but poor attitude; with applicants failing to turn up for interview or poor preparation. 

We’re all responsible for the image of manufacturing, it is vital to the country's future prosperity and it is important to invest in the skills needed to maintain its strength. Together with government, we must inspire more young people to see manufacturing and engineering as a viable and exciting career choice.