Bristol manufacturing boost will benefit our distribution warehouse to let
For Simon Howes, recent figures from the National Apprenticeship Service that show a surge in demand for manufacturing and engineering apprenticeships are extremely welcome, and could bode very well for our ready to let distribution warehouse.
As regional director for the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), he plays a pivotal role in championing manufacturing in the region. But the figures also carry a particular personal resonance. Simon was employed as an electronics technician with a company after his apprenticeship had finished. In 1993, following further re-organisation of the business, he was promoted to engineering manager of the factory. He was just 25. He remained in the role until 1996, when he was head-hunted by a firm looking to build a new factory in Saudi Arabia to supply materials to the region’s childcare product manufacturers.
Mr Howes is keen to ensure that local businesses are well placed to capitalise on the new growth now returning to the sector, with particular focus on reshoring manufacturing to the UK, and in exploiting growth in new areas of investment, such as nuclear and offshore wind power generation. This is in addition to the work that the MAS team does every day in helping businesses operate and grow in more traditional supply chains, such as aerospace, defence, marine, food and drink and others that are dominant in the region.
“The UK’s offshore wind market is estimated to be worth more than £100 billion over the next 20 years and the nuclear power station planned for Hinkley Point in Somerset will have an overall construction value of £16bn,” said Mr Howes. “There are numerous opportunities for South West manufacturers to supply these sectors and we are working hard to ensure local firms are well placed to take full advantage of this. Many businesses in the region are actively seeking to bring their production back to the UK. This is due to a combination of forces, including a strong and building economy, competitive corporation tax rates, a good regulatory environment, strong legal frameworks and a dynamic labour market. MAS has recently launched a new Reshore UK service to help companies specifically in this area.”
MAS advisers see around 1,000 South West companies each year and Mr Howes is committed to continuing to engage with businesses and adapt the service for future needs.
He said: “It would be fair to say that in the last 11 years most firms have recognised the need to continually look at new ways of working and develop fresh ideas. I have noticed more openness among businesses to receiving and embracing external input to help fuel their growth and the most open are also the most successful. The tenacity, diversity and creativity of manufacturers in the South West never ceases to amaze me and I have a great deal of confidence in them. The region is a real hub for manufacturing and, by focusing on the success of this key sector and with long-term support from the current and future governments, the media, educators and opinion leaders, we can make serious progress in the years ahead.”
Source: Bristol Post