Skills, strategy and innovation - a blueprint for a productivity boosting manufacturing renaissance

The UK manufacturing sector is at a pivotal moment. The world is changing, global politics are in flux and whole economies are seeing seismic shifts. This unpredictability should be seen as an opportunity for a manufacturing renaissance, says Professor Ben Morgan, the new interim CEO of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. 

In the past ten years, whilst the world has been changing, one thing has remained constant in the UK - flat productivity. Global events, from Brexit and the Covid pandemic, to conflict and energy price increases - have created a difficult business backdrop, which has made it much harder for businesses to invest. There has been no certainty or easy bets.

I’m confident that we can turn this tide; that productivity can increase once again, and UK manufacturing can stand at the forefront of this mission.

we have to try and control the controllables. For UK industry...some of these controllables are developing cutting edge innovation, deploying that innovation, and a laser-like focus on skills and talent