The UK government unveiled the early awaited industrial strategy today, November 27. This seemingly amounts to the definitiev road map towards a world-beating, wealth creating economy. However, there remains much uncertainty to ensure success. " ...[F]urther detail around delivery would be welcome.", said Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF.
Some industrialists and academics complained that the thicket of old and new funding programmes, in conjunction with red tape from government initiatives, could be confusing. Dr Craig Berry of the University of Sheffiled, a member of the independent Industrial Strategy Commission, compared the strategy document as "under-cooked" course for unlocking private inverstment. Whereas the Jurgen Maier, chief executive of Siemens UK consider, on the whole, this is "enough at least to start turning t in positive direction."
Herein proposed four key chanllenges by the government's white paper :
1. Productivity
Britain remains stubbornly less productive than other developed economies such as Franceand the US, despite its flexible labour laws and attraction as destination for overseas investment. There are five foundations of pofuctivity specified by the government's strategy document: 1) innovation, 2) people, 3) infrastructure, 4) places and 5) business enviroment. However, it fails to address teh productivity of samll and medium-sized enterprises, where major problems lie, and in the supply chain, where cash is not enough. "The scale of the challenge in terms of teh competitiveness of teh UK supply chian." said Paul Everitt, the head of ADS, an aerospace and defence industry lobby group .
2. Skills
A lack of relevant skills is fairly urgent, particularly about the new type and also in a new way of learning. As an ageing population begins to retire en masse, 1.8m engineers and technicians will be required by 2025, said by Engineering UK, a lobby group. To reponse, a new office for students and a new natioanl retraining scheme to support reskilling will be launched, though which is still be complained of far short as the Brexit would reduce the supply of overseas labour coming into teh country. Besides, the level of investment propesed by teh government was suggested "inadequate given the scale of teh productivity challenge facing the UK. The focus [is] ainly on education policy and teh supply of skilled labour for the future in niche sectors", by Ben Willmott, the head of public policy at teh CIPD.
3. Digitalisation and technology
The growth of data and artidicial intelligence may be the major challenges for teh economy, but plans to tacke it are restrained to a collection of small investemnts such as £45m for new post graduate degree in the field and £30m for testing the use of AI in online education. A new office of AI is expected to establish the government's ambition as a leader withoiut any fudning alloctaed.
4. Brexit
A coherent industrial strategy is vital than ever with the confusion reigning over the terms of Britain's exit from teh EU. Mike Hawes, chief executives of teh SMMT, considered the measures "will help the UK automotives industry meet some of the many global challenges it faces." While others were less sanguine by comparing the Brexit to the elephant in the room. Everything else is irrelevant while Brexit applies the brakes.
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