Manufacturing was once the bedrock of the economy and the source of the UK’s rise to economic superpower status in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since Margaret Thatcher unceremoniously re-shaped the economic landscape in the 1980s, the sector has shrunk from 25% of GDP in 1979 to 16% in 1990 and to just 9% now. In the process it has
The UK economy appears to be on a slow upward trajectory in 2024 after a rocky start and on the back of a tough business landscape in 2023. We hope this trend continues and improves as UK business owners desperately need some stability and growth. Delving deeper into April’s stats, there was mixed news with a pleasant surprise in the
Near the top of the list of worries that keep many manufacturing bosses awake at night is hiring and retaining the right talent for an industry being overwhelmed by helter skelter technological change. Recruiting enough people was already a problem in a tight labour market, but the emphasis is increasingly moving away from the number to getting hold of staff
The manufacturing sector has more experience of significant non-human involvement in its research, operations and administration than almost any other after decades using data analysis, machine learning and robotics. Now AI is being used to harness the power of these well-established methods to reshape traditional manufacturing processes. This is ushering the industry into a new era of intelligent automation in
The vitriolic aggression associated for so long with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has largely dissipated. There is now a continuing and largely constructive debate about the true impact of Brexit on the key UK manufacturing sector, which accounts for around a tenth of GDP, especially in the near parallel context of the pandemic and its effects.
