A Very Positive Outlook For UK Manufacturing Hiring 2017/2018

UK Manufacturing Showing Growth Q2 2017

In July 2017 the pace of growth in the UK’s manufacturing sector picked up for the first time in three months, according to latest industry surveys;

• The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey showed manufacturers have seen a big increase in export orders thanks to the cheaper pound
• The latest CBI Industrial Trends survey also showed “that UK manufacturers are on the march, with production and orders growing strongly, but with the challenges posed by Brexit, everything possible must be done to ensure they can stay ahead of the game. It is a time to build the confidence to invest and export, creating new high quality jobs across the country.”

In Scotland manufacturing has also experienced a ‘remarkable quarter’ (Q2 2017) with strong demand expected to continue, according to the CBI.

UK Manufacturing Hiring On The Increase 2017/2018

As export manufacturing activity has picked up, supported by the depreciation of the pound and an upturn in the global economy overall this has encouraged manufacturers to invest more in improve efficiencies and expanding capacity – factories are ramping up production at their fastest pace since 1995 and manufacturers expect to accelerate at a 40-year high in the months ahead, on strong demand from the UK and abroad.

As a result, manufacturers are hiring fast to cope with this surge in exports and are also spending more money on training their staff, the CBI survey showed, which “indicates that manufacturers are taking steps to address a much-anticipated skills shortage”.

The CBI survey showed hiring intentions over the three-month period improved abd manufacturing employee headcount increased at its fastest rate for three years;  “Output growth among UK manufacturers is the highest we’ve seen since the mid Nineties, prompting the strongest hiring spree we’ve seen in the last three years. Cost pressures are easing and firms are upbeat about the outlook for export orders,” said the CBI’s chief economist Rain Newton-Smith.

In fact, manufacturing showed the biggest growth in UK vacancies in Q2 2017 at 24% ahead of the charity, automotive, social care, property services, and recruitment, engineering, design, agriculture and construction sectors.

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Further Growth Forecast For UK Manufacturing 2018

According to the business Optimism Index (how firms expect their order books to develop in the coming six months) by business advisers BDO LLP,  UK manufacturers “are expecting a flurry of business activity…..amidst slowing growth in the economy as a whole, UK manufacturing is a definite bright spot at the moment,” Said Tom Lawton, partner and head of manufacturing, BDO LLP.

Increased Support For The UK Manufacturing Sector – New CBI ‘Manufacturing Council’ Launched July 2017

A new body is being set up by the CBI, a “manufacturing council” , intended to support the UK’s manufacturing industry which it said accounts for just 10% of the UK economy but represents two thirds of the country’s spending on R&D.

The new council will consist of CEOs of manufacturers of all sizes and its focus will be to push skills needed by the sector; helping get R&D spending to 3% of national GDP; working to achieve a Brexit deal that manufacturers can work with; and creating an industrial strategy that supports productivity.

Launching the new council, Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI deputy director-general, said: “A strong and diverse UK manufacturing industry is the foundation of a robust economy – it has never been more important that its voice is heard loud and clear.”

The council will be chaired by Tom Crotty, director of chemicals group Ineos,  who added: “A vibrant manufacturing sector is essential to the growth of the UK economy”.

The UK manufacturing sector however is currently primarily represented by trade association EEF, whose membership includes 2,000 manufacturing businesses.

It is yet unclear how the 2 bodies will work together, but a spokesman for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: “We welcome efforts by the CBI and EEF to look at how best to support the manufacturing sector now and in the future. The Government continues to work closely with the CBI and other business groups as we develop our vision for a modern Industrial Strategy, delivering a high-skilled economy that is fit for the future.”

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Sources

FT
City AM
Telegraph
City AM
Independent
Eureka Magazine
FT
Telegraph
City AM
Insider Media
Scotsman