Made in the Midlands warns over manufacturing’s image

MIM canvassed its members, manufacturing and engineering decision makers, to produce a report that assesses and forecasts industry trends in the next three to five years. Asked how they thought the image of manufacturing as a career choice is seen by the wider UK public, 41% still believed it was viewed as having a low professional status. No-one thought that it was seen as having a high professional status. MIM's non-executive chairman, David Wright, said: "We know that 2013 was actually very good year for manufacturing; reports and intelligence substantiate that and those messages have permeated across our industrial community. "Outside of that, with skills and succession planning still very much an issue on the ground, many of our members believe that manufacturing is still perceived poorly as a career choice and that has huge repercussions for future sustainable growth." One respondent remarked: "Brighter English kids don't want to go into manufacturing. In Germany, engineering apprentices are seen as successful, but here you are not seen as doing well." Wright added: "Clearly, the last thing we want is to perpetuate negativity, there's been too much of that over the past couple of decades, but we must take the concerns of our members seriously. We have every opportunity to innovate, compete globally and create wealth but we need the people and the skills in place to enable us to move forward." "Schools, parents, the government, the media and manufacturers themselves can all play an even greater part. Our focus this year will be on advocating a career in manufacturing and engineering by showing that it is an exciting, challenging and rewarding environment." Made in the Midlands will open its annual expo on May 22 exclusively to schools and colleges after it has closed to delegates at 3pm. From that time onwards teachers and pupils will have access to the Midlands manufacturing community to find out more about industry and the careers within it.