Bringing greater skills to manufacturing is key to increasing productivity, says industry recruiter

As the Chancellor George Osborne is urged to raise productivity across the country, this week's report from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has found that despite the 4.8 per cent downturn of the manufacturing industry in 2015, 40 per cent of productivity gains over the next decade will come from the manufacturing sector.

In light of these findings, Beatrice Bartlay, owner of specialist staffing agency for the manufacturing sector 2B Interface, has called for the government to invest in more training and apprenticeships to improve the skills of future candidates in the manufacturing industry:

“The manufacturing industry offers great opportunities to the British economy, however since the recession it has not quite picked up the pace. As the latest EEF research underlines, manufacturing will play a key part in productivity across the UK and so it is time for the government to provide greater support for future workers in the industry through investing in research, training and apprenticeships,” stated Bartlay.

2B Interface’s core business supports the provision of highly specialist staff qualified in manufacturing for the thriving shopfitting sector. In a sector that was hit hard by the recession, Mintel has predicted that the shopfitting market will be worth £5bn by 2017, with high demand for sought-after skills as retailers invest to improve store experiences.

Bartlay continued: “A fundamental part of the industry’s success will be dependant on the quality of future workers, and so it is important that they have the fine-tuned skills needed to help drive the industry forward, and help support its expected productivity standards. In order to operate effectively, manufacturing organisations will need to have access to skilled candidates that are readily trained, and greater apprenticeship schemes and skills training will help achieve this.”

She concluded: “Moving forward, the manufacturing sector will be increasingly relying on the government for support, especially to help it surpass its pre-recession rate, and so it’s important that the industry’s potential for boosting productivity and the overall economy is recognised before it’s too late.”