The CBI's quarterly industrial trends report suggests the strongest growth in total orders for seven years and in output for eight years, an environment that has manufacturers optimistic for the coming year.
While the numbers predicting new jobs are still in a balance of negative figures although at minus 13 instead of last quarter's minus 26 a lack of skilled labour is not overly worrying employers with only 13% claming it a problem up one per cent from last quarter.
However, firms' lack of worry over skilled labour is belied by the 10% increased to a positive 14% balance of firms in the number looking to either train or retrain staff, something some feel which should have been considered earlier:
'I think we need to accept that employment in the medium to long term in our sector will always fall. But investment in training during the time it has been falling has not kept up pace and this will cause problems.
'Much more money needs to be spent on training if the UK is to compete as the market starts to improve' the Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF) told HR Gateway today.
Figures on graduate recruitment released yesterday from Income Data Services (IDS) suggest that the sector is to increase its intake of graduates this year by 13.3%, even though many reports suggest a shortage of engineering graduates.
However, the EEF said today that they had received little complaints from members concerning the problems of finding graduates, it was younger vocational workers that were causing the worry: 'Most have no trouble finding graduates' it said.
Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser, said today that the manufacturing sector was now on a path to recovery and that firms believe the worst is behind them, but urged the Bank of England to remain prudent in terms of rate hikes:
'The recovery now depends on the positive expectations for the coming quarter being realised, so manufacturers will be hoping that the Bank of England continues its gradualist approach to raising interest rates' he said.
