Skills shortage needs action now
We - as an industry - have been talking about skills for quite some time. The electronics sector for one needs new people - many more than are 'signing up' today. Manufacturing in general needs more people if the UK's economy is to be more reliant on what we make, rather than what we earn by moving cash around.
EngineeringUK says we only produce 46,000 engineering graduates each year, even though there is demand for 69,000. We only have 27,000 apprentices qualifying at level 3 each year, but there is demand for three times that number.
The problem is that, to a large extent, all we have is talk and reports - what is needed is action.
EngineeringUK says Government needs to work in partnership with the engineering industry, professional bodies and voluntary sector. The Government says it is 'doing all it can' to support engineering at all levels.
All very well, but creating more engineers and growing manufacturing's contribution to GDP requires action and investment and it needs to happen now.
