Stephen Phipson, Make UK CEO, following the recent very successful Make UK regional awards dinner in Manchester, has praised their work in the region and highlighted how vital this is, because the North is the UK’s largest manufacturing area.
Make UK (formerly the EEF) is the UK’s largest trade organisation and one of only five organisations who have a regular dialogue with the UK Government. The others being the CBI; Chambers of Commerce, FSB and the IoD.
Britain is one of the world’s biggest manufacturing nations, with almost three million people working in the sector and delivering almost half of all UK exports. Their representative body, Make UK, wants to champion and celebrate British manufacturing and manufacturers, especially since, manufacturing drives over 60 percent of all UK research and development.
Commented Stephen: “The skills agenda, especially for vocational apprentices, is our number one focus and I want us to be once again a world leader in this area, which would then drive productivity and competitivity. Consequently, I am delighted that our members and local partners are the largest deliverers of apprenticeship and that these awards had a particular focus on recognizing our stars of the future.
“I was particularly pleased to see the large number of women represented, since one of our aims is to address the gender imbalance in manufacturing, where only 12% of apprentices are women.
“Another campaign we are also involved with, is supporting digitisation in manufacturing, such as the use of sensors on CNC machines, in partnership with Made Smarter’s North West pilot, which has already signed up over 800 SMEs to participate. Well done to everyone involved.
“However, one of our biggest issues in the North is infrastructure. In the UK, we only invest 1% GDP in this, which is the lowest spend in the western world and we will certainly be lobbying to raise this as a priority on the Government’s agenda. An efficient and modern transport system is vital.
“The other issue which we are focused on, is raising awareness of the importance of companies being cyber secure and particularly, the devastating impact of loss of intellectual property for manufacturers. In 2020, we will be undertaking a nationwide campaign, with Vauban, to ensure that everyone takes this issue seriously and to significantly increase the take up levels for Government backed initiatives such as Cyber Essentials Plus.
“Finally, I would like to congratulate the following North West Make UK award winners:
1. Business Apprentice of the Year: Final Year
WINNER: Helen Wood, MBDA UK
RUNNER-UP: Georgia-Olivia Hampson, BAE Systems
2. Business Apprentice of the Year: Rising Star
WINNER: Sian Court, Siemens
RUNNER-UP: Christopher Davey, BAE Systems
3. Engineering Apprentice of the Year: Final Year
WINNER: Alfie White, BAE Systems
RUNNER-UP: John Barr, Siemens
4. Engineering Apprentice of the Year: Rising Star
WINNER: Denize Ivy Pilarta. BAE Systems
RUNNER-UP: Michael Glover, BAE Systems
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jade Hughes, TSP Engineering
5. Business Growth and Strategy
WINNER: Packaging Automation Ltd
RUNNER-UP: Precision Pallets & Cases Ltd
HIGHLY COMMENDED: M&I Materials Ltd
6. Developing Future Talent
WINNER: Exyte Hargreaves
RUNNER-UP: Air Products
7. Innovation
WINNER: Bitrez Ltd
RUNNER-UP: Tratos Ltd
8. Sustainability
WINNER: Prinovis UK Ltd
RUNNER-UP: Not awarded
