British industry lags behind global robotics and AI leaders

Closing the gap could deliver £150bln more to UK GDP by 2035, say Make UK and Sage.

Over the last decade, the UK has slipped from second in the Global Innovation Index to fifth place, according to a report from Make UK and Sage.

With just 112 industrial robots per 10,000 workers, half the EU average, Britain now lags 24th in the global Robotics Density Index.

However, the manufacturers' organisation and digital solution provider find that governments have successfully tackled similar innovation gaps by targeting funding at SMEs.

Their report, Making it smarter: Global lessons for accelerating automation and digital adoption in UK manufacturing, concludes that nearly half of British manufacturers identify a lack of technical skills as the biggest hurdle to improving their use of innovative advanced technologies.

UK companies cannot find the help and advice to make their technologies work well, according to the report, but countries where all SME innovation funding and advice is in an easily accessible 'umbrella hub', have dramatically higher success rates.

It cites South Korea as a successful example of moving to advanced digitalisation factories from legacy production methods. Its government is claimed to have pursued a single strategy that focuses on education, infrastructure and innovation, offering R&D tax incentives of 30% for companies investing in semiconductor facilities, and broader tax credits guaranteed to 2029 and beyond.

South Korea's training of 40,000 people to operate fully automated production systems is also heralded, with firms adopting smart technologies purportedly seeing a 25% increase in productivity and a 27% drop in defects.

‘Time and again, we hear from small and medium-sized manufacturers that they’re keen to adopt new technologies, but are being held back by fragmented support, complex funding systems, and a lack of accessible, appropriate digital skills training. If we want to unlock a £150 billion boost to UK GDP by 2035, we must make it easier for SMEs to adopt automation and AI,’ says Make UK Chief Economist Seamus Nevin.