UK manufacturers demonstrate adaptability despite major disruptions

Published by Protolabs and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the report - How Five Years Shaped the Future of UK Manufacturing - is based on annual surveys of over 700 UK manufacturing executives and IMechE members over five years covering the period before, during and after the global pandemic and Brexit.

It shows that confidence has increased among businesses, particularly around their readiness to adopt Industry 4.0 practices and digital processes.

When asked how prepared they were for the Industry 4.0 era and the rise of digital processes, 65 per cent now say that they are ‘very prepared’ or ‘prepared’, which represents a three-fold increase compared to the answers participants gave in 2019.

The study also found UK manufacturers now have greater belief in their own ability to resolve the digital skills gap by training their own people. In response to the question, “what is the greatest challenge UK companies face when adopting digital manufacturing techniques”, almost 70 per cent said “a lack of expertise” in 2019. That number has now fallen to 33 per cent.