UK manufacturing lacks management skills

The greatest skills gap in the UK manufacturing sector lies in general management, research suggests.

In a survey of 400 interim managers specialising in manufacturing, commissioned by interim management provider Russam GMS, 86% of respondents said there is an industry-wide skills shortage. More than half believe that the greatest skills gap is in general management.

One in five also thought that employees with change management skills were needed, and 18% felt there was a lack of good project management skills in the industry. Respondents also bemoaned a lack of skilled employees.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

John Wilson, head of manufacturing practice at Russam GMS, said: “One cause for concern is the significant skills shortage which appears to be particularly pronounced at managerial level.

“While this is good news for interim managers in terms of generating good employment prospects, it is an issue that needs addressing now if UK manufacturing companies want to retain their competitive edge,” he said.