Apprenticeships can fill skills gaps—if they get their due

Vocational training is crucial to manufacturing industry, but not all employers and providers have cottoned on, says Kate Barclay.

Manufacturing industry is experiencing a transformation often called the fourth industrial revolution. This is characterised by increasing digitisation of processes, products, systems, value chains and business models, enabled by technologies including artificial intelligence, robotics and interconnected devices and sensors.

In the next five years, many more organisations will need to acquire the specialist skills necessary for turning innovations into competitive advantage. The need, and the gap, is clear. The 2018 CEO Survey by the consultancy PWC found that 38 per cent of UK chief executives struggle to attract people with the right kind of digital skills.