Skills shortages in UK manufacturing are seeing the sector shrink faster
than in rival industrialised countries, according to a new study.
The CBI report UK manufacturing: Strategy into Action, says there is a need
to ensure skills levels are maintained to instill confidence in future
investment, but the UK has the greatest proportion of adults with low basic
literacy and numeracy in the industrialised world.
The study says that this translates into a high proportion of low-level
skills and a considerably lower proportion of intermediate skills than in
France and Germany. British productivity in the sector is also consistently
lower than in the US.
The report also blames the Government for compounding the problem with the
build up of regulations, increases in business taxation and the failure to
improve transport links.
