Industrials,
Engineering,
Manufacturing
& Electronic Systems
Engineering,
Manufacturing
& Electronic Systems
The industrial sector covers a wide variety of markets, which are pulled in numerous directions in terms of exposure to economic cycles, growth and competitive advantage. The engineering industry designs, manufactures and operates structures and machines in areas like automobiles, heavy equipment, aerospace, business, transportation and manufacturing.
Challenges the industry faces:
Addressing the demands of emerging markets
Building new capabilities to stay ahead of the competition
Migrating supply chains from mature economies to emerging ones
Financing difficulties
Reducing environmental impact
Skills shortage
To ensure the long-term sustainability of our economic recovery, we must maintain and expand a strong engineering sector. The key to this is to focus on attracting more highly skilled and talented engineers.
According to the Engineering 2015 report, this industry already accounts for a quarter of all UK turnovers and its professionals are employed in a diverse range of roles, including R&D, manufacturing and consulting.
Manufacturing currently employs
2.7 million people
Manufacturing accounts
for 45% of exports
The manufacturing sector relies heavily on exports, which means its market is affected by factors such as product pricing and currency strength.
UK manufacturing is exceptionally strong in aerospace, automotive, chemicals, clothing and footwear, electrical equipment, electronics, food and drink, metals and engineered metal products. Over the years, manufacturing has become increasingly hi-tech.
Manufacturing currently employs 2.7 million people, contributing 10% of the GVA and accounting for 45% of the country’s total exports. More importantly, it represents 68% of business research and development, in order to stay competitive and respond to emerging market needs.
The engineering sector will
generate an additional£27 billion per year after 2022
The electronic systems industry:
Employs over 850,000 people
2.9% of the country’s workforce
Fifth largest electronic industry in the world
Contributes £80 billion per year
Major global electronic system companies are based in the UK. Most importantly, these companies spearhead the progress of the sector by investing heavily on research and development.
The UK aims to significantly grow the domestic electronic systems industry by 55%, to £120 billion by 2020 and to create an additional 150,000 highly-skilled jobs. This means that the industry will contribute 7.1% of the GDP by 2020.