Sector Focus


Manufacturing Manufacturers fear post-Brexit skills crunch


Half of the UK’s manufacturers remain concerned about their ability to access skills post-Brexit, according to a new report. According to the report by


manufacturers’ organisation EEF and law firm Squire Patton Boggs, the slump in job applications from the EU has slowed since last year, but 17 per cent of companies experienced a drop in applications from European citizens. A further 13 per cent of


manufacturers still report an increase in EU workers leaving their businesses. Many of those employees are


returning to the EU permanently, with companies struggling to recruit suitably skilled staff in the UK. The report, Navigating Brexit:


The Migration Minefield, calls on Government to move swiftly to give companies and their workforce increased clarity over the future of EU citizens working in the UK to stem the outward flow. Proper guidance for EU workers


seeking settled status would do much to mitigate this problem, according to the report. Four in 10 (39 per cent) of manufacturers need support in


Conference explores industrial revolution


A major Midlands manufacturing conference will highlight the challenges facing the industry in funding and how to make the most of ‘Industry 4.0’. The event, organised by audit


firm Crowe UK, is being held at the Manufacturing Technology Centre at Ansty Park, Coventry, on 10 July. Industry 4.0 – often referred to


as the fourth industrial revolution - is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical


systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing. Among speakers at the


conference is former Manufacturing Advisory Service head Rachel Eade, who will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing manufacturing companies. Johnathan Dudley, head of


manufacturing at Crowe, will talk about how to raise funds in the financial markets to fund retooling for Industry 4.0, and other speakers will include Richard Hill, who will outline NatWest’s Future Fit Programme, and Mark Miles of Render Media will deliver a presentation on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in manufacturing.


72 CHAMBERLINK July/August 2018 Geoff Perry: Skilled EU workers are leaving UK because of Brexit


understanding the ways to support EU employees to gain residency/ settled status and 68 per cent want guidance on what the changes after March 2019 will mean for employers and their EU employees In an attempt to stem the


growing skills issue, companies are taking steps to hold onto older workers with specialist skills, with 16 per cent having implemented or are currently implementing such policies.


Nearly half (47 per cent) of those


manufacturers questioned are also increasing training programmes for all existing employees with 37 per cent increasing apprenticeship and/or graduate recruitment programmes. Improving pay and benefits


packages is the route taken by 20 per cent of companies in order to attract and retain staff for longer and 21 per cent are accelerating plans for automation.


‘The UK Government should indicate now that a light- touch post-Brexit immigration policy for EU citizens will be introduced’


Posting workers to the Europe,


even for a short time, will become more complex after March next year, when Britain officially leaves the European Union. This may come as a shock to the


almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of manufacturers regularly sending employees to other EU member states. A quarter (24 per cent) of companies polled for the report are posting workers for servicing and repair as part of ongoing contracts with customers across Europe and over half (52 per cent) sending employees to Europe for sales and marking purposes. Geoff Perry, partner and head of


manufacturing at Squire Patton Boggs in Birmingham, said: “The UK Government should indicate now that a light-touch post-Brexit immigration policy for EU citizens will be introduced and without mirroring the cost and complexity associated with the Points Based System for non-EU workers. “With less than two years to go


before the end of the proposed transition period, it is difficult for manufacturers who rely on EU workers of all skill levels to make meaningful contingency plans.”


JLR makes autonomy a reality


Off road: Land Rover is to develop all terrain self-driving cars


Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is developing autonomous cars capable of all-terrain, off-road driving in any weather condition. The world-first ‘CORTEX’ project


will take self-driving cars off-road, ensuring they are fully capable in any weather condition. As part of the project, a ‘5D’


technique combining acoustic, video, radar, light detection and distance sensing (LiDAR) data live in real-time is being engineered. Access to this combined data


improves the awareness of the environment the car is in.


Machine-learning enables the


self-driving car to behave in an increasingly sophisticated way, allowing it to handle any weather condition on any terrain. Chris Holmes, connected and


autonomous vehicle research manager at JLR, said: “It’s important that we develop our self- driving vehicles with the same capability and performance customers expect from all Jaguars and Land Rovers. “CORTEX gives us the opportunity to work with some fantastic partners whose expertise


will help us realise this vision in the near future.” This project forms part of the


company’s vision to make the self- driving car viable in the widest range of real-life driving environments. CORTEX will develop the


technology through algorithm development, sensor optimisation and physical testing on off-road tracks in the UK. The University of Birmingham, with its world leading research in radar and sensing for autonomous platforms and Myrtle AI, machine learning experts, join the project.


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