Make UK Chief Executive calls for new national vision for resilience
The manufacturing trade body wants a bold vision that combines economic and defence security.
At the Make UK National Manufacturing Conference, held at the QE2 Centre in Westminster, Chief Executive of Make UK Stephen Phipson called on the government to be bolder in its industrial strategy.
He added that scaling up of this strategy is essential to meet the challenges the UK faces with a rapidly changing geopolitical scenario and accelerating technologies.
According to Phipson, the government needs to take ‘radical steps’ in reforming the Apprentice Levy, including releasing £1bln of skills funding currently not being used for training, so that industry can help address youth unemployment by creating more apprenticeships for young people.
He also warned about a threat to industry from ‘hideously high energy costs’ and called for an announcement by summer of an extension to the proposed business energy support scheme across the sector, bringing it forward from 2027.
Alongside this, he called for a roadmap to bring defence spending up to 5% of GDP as soon as possible, arguing that the current timeframe of 2035 is too slow given UK’s NATO commitments and the changing international scenario.
