| Introduction
Manufacturing
in the UK
The success
of United Kingdom manufacturing is crucial to our country's prosperity,
now and in the future:
- Manufacturing
is a sixth of the economy
- It's
vital for our trading position - being responsible for around
two-thirds of all UK exports
- It
generates almost 3.1 million jobs directly - and supports a further
2 million in the service sector.
- It's
responsible for around 75% of business research & development
- It's
a key generator of productivity in the wider economy, through
introducing new products and processes.
Every
industry sector in the UK has world-class companies that prove that
success in manufacturing comes from constantly innovating and investing
in new products, new designs, new materials and new production techniques.
But we need more UK companies to move to this level.
The
challenge to manufacturers
Globalisation and trade liberalisation mean companies face increasing
competition from goods and services produced in lower wage economies.
The UK cannot compete on low wages, nor should we want to. The future
of UK manufacturing depends on raising investment, and applying science
and innovation, best practice and skills to create even better products.
That
is why we are working in partnership with industry, trade unions,
regional development agencies, and other stakeholders to deliver
the Governments'
Manufacturing Strategy. The Strategy, launched in May
2002, sets out the actions that we all need to take to create a
high value, high skill manufacturing sector capable of introducing
new products and processes into our economy, creating new markets,
and delivering a huge boost to our prosperity.
-
Review of the Government's Manufacturing Strategy
In July 2004 we launched a review of the Government’s Manufacturing
Strategy Competing
in the Global Economy: The Manufacturing Strategy Two Years On
This provided:
- An independent review of stakeholder views
on the strategy, helping to identify priorities in going forward.
- A brief overview of the manufacturing sector
in the past two years.
- A set of at-a-glance key
performance indicators, designed to monitor the success
of the UK manufacturing sector
- A review of what has been achieved in each
of the seven pillars since the original Government’s Manufacturing
Strategy was launched in 2002. An action plan,
bringing together key themes identified in the review, and identifying
the priorities of Government, Business and key stakeholders in
going forward.
- A review of manufacturing in the Devolved Administrations
& Northern Ireland
The review identified the need to establish a new Manufacturing
Forum jointly led by Government and Industry to drive
forward the Action Plan.
A summary of the document is available in English
(230 Kb) and in Welsh
(137 Kb).
To order a free printed copy of the report please click on the
button.
The report is also available as a pdf file (923 Kb).
To order a free
printed copy of the report please click on the button.
The report is
also available as a pdf
file (923 Kb).
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Last updated 12 July 2004 |
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