BAE Systems group managing director programmes and support Nigel Whitehead, who is a commissioner at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), told HR magazine the sector is back on its feet post-recession.
He said: “Manufacturing has now regained its confidence. It’s now seen as a fashionable sector again whereas a few years ago that very much wasn’t the case.” Whitehead revealed the situation had got so bad other executives were making barbed comments about the sector.
“Five years ago I had someone from a different area come up to me and ask what my company was going to do when it grew up,” he said “I’m happy to say that two years ago I received an apology from that same person. Even then perceptions of manufacturing were changing.”
He added that the Government now realises the benefits manufacturing can provide to the wider economy. “People now realise that using science and learning to make something that you can then sell on with added value is actually a wholesome way to do business,” he said.
“We’re allowed to go into schools again and present ourselves as an attractive career path. We’ve been given permission to be cool again.”
The jobs growth is part of a widely positive outlook for the sector, with growth increasing at a higher rate than expected last month. The Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) figure was 56.9, up 0.3 from January.
