Are people issues holding back UK industry?

Manufacturing companies are still being hampered by people issues, a summit of industry leaders will hear later this month

Manufacturing companies are still being hampered by people issues, a summit of industry leaders will hear later this month.

Skills shortages, poor management and a high staff turnover are hitting bottom lines.

Manufacturing industry leaders and experts addressing The Manufacturer Live 2005 in Telford will say that tackling issues like leadership, skills and staff motivation is every bit as important as addressing manufacturing efficiency and waste elimination.

A series of sessions is being held over the two day summit, looking at skills and human resource issues.

Beth Chadwick, manager of change projects at Jaguar and Land Rover will explain how her company gave a high priority to quality of management, even in the fiercely aggressive pressure cooker world of the car industry.

She will explain how leaders have been developed from the inside, and a high priority was placed on retaining them.

Chris Bones, principal of Henley Management College will also emphasise the importance of picking the right people for management roles and developing their leadership skills.

He will draw on his experience in key roles with Cadbury Schweppes, Shell and Diageo.

Graham Cooke of Unilever will explain that three per cent of the company budget goes on management, engineer and operator training and that is key to ensuring that the skills of the workforce fit the changing needs of the business.

Head of HR at Airbus, Alex Lewis will emphasise that leadership is the main driver behind continuous improvement and lean manufacturing.

He says this is where the battle to stay competitive is won or lost.

Airbus at Broughton has added a strong leadership development dimension to all process and systems improvement activities.

These four will present in the Skills and Human resources area of The Manufacturer Live 2005.

The two day event at the Telford International Centre on September 28 and 29 will be attended by more than 2000 manufacturing decision makers who will hear from more than 50 speakers from leading companies hosting workshops, seminars and debates on the UK manufacturing big issues.

Glen White, group chief executive of Conquest Business Media which organises the Telford event said he was looking forward to a series of inspirational presentations.

"We are going to be hearing from people who have been there and done it.

Academics have a voice in the debate, but there's nothing like first hand experience to provide the lessons for all of us for the future," he said.

The Manufacturer Live 2005 event is sponsored by Barclays and supported by the DTI.

It will offer manufacturers the chance to learn from their peers and share their own best practice, and will culminate in the prestigious Manufacturer of the Year Awards.

The presentations and exhibitions will be based around the "seven pillars" of manufacturing excellence: leadership and strategy, world class manufacturing, design and innovation, skills and HR, logistics and supply chain, IT in manufacturing and manufacturing operations.

Andy Martin, head of UK Manufacturing at Barclays said the bank was delighted to be the corporate sponsor of The Manufacturer Live 2005.

"As the leading bank covering the UK manufacturing industry, we are committed to helping the industry grow and remain competitive on a global scale.

We believe The Manufacturer Live is the perfect forum for people who share both this commitment and the desire to promote and share best practice.

This year's event is particularly important given the current challenges facing the industry, and we are very pleased to be associated with it".

At the end of the first day, the event is punctuated with the culmination of The Manufacturer Awards 2005, a benchmark awards programme which sets out to recognise excellence in the seven pillars of manufacturing, and has this year attracted more than 100 entries.

There are additional sector awards for automotive, aerospace and process manufacturing.

The awards will be presented at a 750 seat gala dinner.

The 'winner of winners' award for Manufacturer of the Year was won last year by BAE Systems, Edinburgh.

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