The UK’s course of deindustrialisation in the latter stages of the twentieth century was more extensive than that of many of our peer nations.8 Since the turn of this century, total investment by the manufacturing sector has remained static, while the sector has continued to fall as a proportion of GDP.9 Over the same period there has been a significant shift in the geography of the sector, with f. [...] This is due to the high cost of capital, low levels of employee skills, and low levels of employer awareness of and access to AMTs.13 Supporting the wider adoption of AMTs across the whole of the UK’s manufacturing base is vital to ensuring that the sector can encourage greater investment so that it remains productive, competitive, and viable over the long term. [...] The strength of the skill base of the local population is a major determinant of both inward and firm-level investment.18 So too is the innovative capacity of an area, particularly the depth and range of research and development (R&D) that it conducts. [...] Strengthening the local skill base One of the most significant factors that determines the ability of a local economy to attract investment is the strength of the skill base among the local population. [...] 48 The UK Manufacturing Mission should strive to revitalise the sector as a vital and substantial component of the national economy, ultimately aiming to increase its overall share of the national economy – measured in terms of both GDP and employment – by the end of the next parliament.
- Pages
- 48
- Published in
- United Kingdom
