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19 March, 2024

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Blogs & Opinions » Make UK

May 2020 comment for PWE

21 May, 2020

If a week is a long time in politics then the last couple of months have felt like a lifetime. At the time of writing in week seven of the lockdown it’s clear that for Britain’s manufacturers it’s going to be a long way back towards anything like normality, whatever that new normality will be. At the start of May Make UK published it’s first COVID 19 Monitor showing that industry had experienced a collapse in demand as the impact of the global lockdown due to coronavirus hammers home with a warning that conditions are unlikely to return to anywhere near normal for some time.


February 2020 comment for PWE

30 April, 2020

At 11pm on Friday 31 January, three and a half years after the Brexit referendum, the UK formally withdrew from the European Union. Flags were lowered and the UK’s representatives in Brussels withdrew from the European institutions and packed their bags. But apart from these highly symbolic changes, what else will be different and, most importantly for manufacturers, what does this mean for trade between the UK and the EU?


January 2020 comment for PWE

30 April, 2020

With an alarming backdrop of ever-increasing skills shortages, rapid technological change and an ageing workforce, manufacturers are investing more than ever before in their employees’ health and wellbeing. Counselling, health-screening and mental health first aiders are the norm in factories across the UK with modern and flexible working opportunities sitting at the heart of British industry.


Comment #1

07 January, 2020

For a minute, let’s challenge the idea that for business to do anything positive on environmental sustainability, regulation is the answer. In our latest report, Manufacturing: stepping up to the sustainability challenge, we found that manufacturers of all types and sizes are making inroads into sustainable business practice, not just because of regulation but for a variety of reasons. Cost saving is clearly a major benefit, with nearly 80% of respondents to our survey stating that this was the main driver for making an environmentally positive change to their business.


Comment #2

07 January, 2020

The United Kingdom has a long history of manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution which marked a major turning point in global development began in this country. Almost every aspect of modern life was influenced in some way by the birth of modern business, born in the British manufacturing sector.


Comment #3

07 January, 2020

As we have seen from the negotiating process Brexit is time consuming and means that other issues such as the advancement of UK industry into the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) which is rapidly gaining momentum elsewhere, are falling by the wayside. 


Comment #4

07 January, 2020

Since the new government took office there has been a clear ratcheting up of no deal rhetoric. While the Government’s preparations to date are welcome, the unprecedented nature of Brexit means some consequences cannot be mitigated in advance.


Comment #5

07 January, 2020

So what are manufacturers telling us now we’re more than half way through the year?


Comment #6

07 January, 2020

The new T levels are due to be introduced in engineering and manufacturing in 2022 and are intended to place technical qualifications as an equivalent to A levels.


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