Apprentices power surge in British manufacturing
FLOURISHING firms are taking on more apprentices as the UK becomes a global manufacturing powerhouse, figures show.
Two-thirds of companies say they are boosting schemes as the burgeoning Made in Britain sector assembles a crack workforce of young talent fit for the future.
The move comes as industry experts say skills remain the top priority with training budgets unaffected by a perfect storm of pressure that has caused global turbulence.
Brandauer, one of Europe’s leading precision metal makers, became one of only a select number of firms to hold two different King’s Awards titles simultaneously.
It was honoured for manufacturing innovative and globally competitive precision tools that can produce micron accuracy components for use in high-spec applications. It comes four years after it was presented with an International Trade Award from the then Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Boss Rowan Crozier said: “The best decision we ever made was reintroducing apprenticeships.
Some 15% of our workforce are apprentices and many of our young engineers have gone on to be quality specialists, new product introduction engineers and even manufacturing director. They’re now mentoring the next generation to come through and it’s great to see.” Apprenticeships combine practical job training with study. But a competitive and highly skilled jobs market, coupled with less appetite for traditional and expensive university degrees, has seen huge demand for shop-floor experience.
In the 2022-23 academic year 752,150 people participated in an apprenticeship in England with 48% aged 25 and over.
In the past year Brandauer has spent more than £1million developing the UK’s first Precision Tooling Academy in partnership with In-Comm Training to equip the next generation with world-class skills. Rowan said: “UK manufacturing has a massive opportunity to re-establish itself at the top table of industry.
“There’s lots of opportunities in electrification, aerospace, med-tech and renewables, but we can only take advantage of these if we have a pipeline of skills coming through, not just for now, but for the next five, 10, and 20 years. The future is bright, but we have to invest now in the talent of tomorrow. Part of that will be getting whichever Government is in power to agree to a longterm strategy.
“We need to be proud of what we make in this country and recognise the ingenuity that drives so many things we take for granted. Made in Britain is great – let’s shout it loud and proud.”
Manufacturing is worth £518billion and supports 7.3 million jobs with Brexit freedoms helping industry thrive.
Analysis by Oxford Economics and the Manufacturing Technologies Association reveals how buoyant firms have flourished despite an unprecedented period of struggle, including Covid and international conflicts. The value of manufacturing is put at almost 25% of national wealth – larger than the 8.2% quoted by economists. Typical wages are £31,300, some 11% higher than the national average.
The UK remains the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world with annual output of £190billion.The annual In-Comm Training Barometer, a state-of-the-nation report of 113 of the UK’s most important manufacturers, shows the spending intentions of 86% of firms remains unchanged, with more than three-quarters investing in new technology.
More than six in 10 plan to take on more apprentices this year, with 80% making this decision to develop engineering skills.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “This Government has revolutionised our apprenticeship system. In fact, every year since 2010 we’ve delivered more apprenticeship starts than any year under the last Labour Government. That is a record I’m very proud of.”
‘Made in Britain is great – let’s shout it loud and proud’