And the conclusion from nearly 100 delegates in the North West today was ‘Yes, manufacturing should be at the heart of a future balanced economy.’
One of a number of events going around the country for Manufacturing Week, EEF and the North West Development Agency hosted a debate at Jaguar Land Rover’s impressive facilities at Halewood.
The panel brought together a range of views from manufacturing, business support, finance and EEF to discuss issues from how we take advantage of low carbon opportunities and concerns about the public finances to how we improve the image of manufacturing and get businesses and universities working more closely.
The audience was firmly on the side of manufacturing – it is important to our economy and it can be bigger and more important in future.
And while 90% of delegates agreed that government needed to get stuck in if this was going to happen, the majority also recognised that manufacturers can and should shout louder about their contribution to the economy and their communities.
Panellists and audience members agreed that raising the profile of industry during Manufacturing Week was a critical part of this, but that it was everyone’s responsibility to carry this forward beyond the 5th March.