EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has launched a campaign to help UK manufacturers to combat recession. Over the next three months, the EEF’s Manufacturing Your Future campaign will offer resources, advice, information and events in three key areas.

• Redundancy and its alternatives How, by changing working hours and practices, companies can avoid the need for redundancy and how, if laying off staff is unavoidable, they can protect their skills base and their ability to bounce back when economic recovery comes.
• Energy efficiency How manufacturers can reduce energy consumption and negotiate better energy tariffs from energy suppliers, as well as reducing their carbon footprint.
• Competitive performance How organisations can maintain their competitive edge by cutting costs, while continuing to pursue innovation, diversification and sustainable business practices.

“Manufacturing output is forecast to fall by 8.6% this year,” says EEF chief executive, Gilbert Toppin (above), “but, despite this gloomy outlook, we believe Britain’s manufacturers – toughened by adversity – will rise to the challenge, finding new ways to diversify, innovate and add value. British manufacturing will ride out this recession, as it has others. And we’ll be there to help.”

The first phase of the campaign includes: a series of nationwide seminars; an on-line redundancy toolkit that provides advice on redundancy programmes; and guidance sheets with ideas to help manufacturers retain their skills base.

The campaign is being supported by Reality Check, an online source of economic data, insight and assistance, updated daily by EEF economists, analysts and business specialists. “It gives manufacturers the up-to-the-minute, unvarnished truth about how the recession is taking shape, what government is doing about it and the resources available,” says Toppin.