EEF,
the manufacturers’ organisation, has backed the DTI’s call for an end to the
doom and gloom surrounding manufacturing, warning that such an attitude risked
turning off the tap of its future talent and endangering further investment.
Making
one of the keynote speeches at a conference organised to review the DTI’s
manufacturing strategy, EEF director general Martin Temple said: “The total
number of jobs in manufacturing is not the only measure of success and those
who continue to peddle a negative message need to consider how this helps
manufacturing to project the image required to attract talented people and
investment into the sector.
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“Manufacturing
in the UK still occupies world-leading positions," he said, "and [the
UK] is home to many international companies that continue to expand and invest
here. Instead of knee-jerk reactions, we need to continue to debate and define
how to make the clearly targeted investment in skills, science and innovation
to bring the underperforming companies up to the level of the best.”
