Institution responds to positive growth figures for the UK's manufacturing sector

Philippa Oldham, Head of Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said the figures offer hope to UK manufacturers, but warned more needs to be done if sustained growth is to be achieved.

Philippa Oldham, Head of Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to this week's ONS and PMI figures which show positive growth within the UK manufacturing sector:

"Both the ONS and the PMI figures are a positive sign and bring some much needed hope to the UK manufacturing sector.

"However, the UK’s output from within the manufacturing sector is still more than 3% below its pre-recession peak so there is still more to be done to get back to these pre-recession levels. Manufacturing and engineering remains the best way to help create and build a stronger economic model for the UK over the coming decades, which we can see from these figures.

We must now continue to build on this growth and ensure this is not a false dawn for our beleaguered manufacturing sector. Government must gain cross-party support on a long-term industrial strategy which engages with industry and addresses the engineering skills shortage, invests in new process and business model development and provides greater access to sufficient capital investment for companies to develop new products and manufacturing processes."