Manufacturing Skills

Tuesday 20th October 2026 Westminster Hall

09:30

[Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered manufacturing skills.

It is a sublime pleasure to serve under your superb chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker), who, due to his giddy elevation to Parliamentary Private Secretary, has allowed me to hijack his debate and talk about the Isle of Wight. Derby has rightly received a lot of focus, so now it is our turn.

Although I will of course continue to argue that the Isle of Wight does best at everything, it would be unfair of me not to recognise what Derby does exceptionally well, whether it is trains, aerospace or the development of small modular reactors, coupled with the exciting Team Derby initiative announced in last year’s Budget. It is a city that demonstrates the value of bringing together industry, skills and investment to drive growth.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

I am an MP for Derby—or, as our Prime Minister called it, the “great city of Derby”—which is famous for its advanced manufacturing and engineering skills. Our largest employers, such as Alstom, Rolls-Royce and Toyota, are able to invest in skills through apprenticeships. Just last week, Great British Railways, which will have its headquarters in Derby city centre, announced up to 600 new apprenticeships. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government must focus more on enabling and supporting smaller manufacturers to invest and train up new apprenticeships to address the skills shortages across the country?

[Richard Quigley]

The great city of Derby has two great MPs, and I agree entirely with my hon. Friend: the more we can do to help small businesses take on apprentices, the better. Anything that teaches people who would not go down the university route a set of skills and takes them into good paid work is absolutely ideal.

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

The challenge in my region is that foreign direct investment comes in, builds big factories and hoovers up the existing skilled workforce from local small and medium-sized enterprises, and there is not a pipeline to replace them. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that regional government works with the further education sector and employers to ensure that there is a proper joined-up skills system so that we do not just bring in new businesses but support our existing SMEs?

[Richard Quigley]

That is a really good point. On the Isle of Wight, we send 25% of our school leavers to university, but 25% end up not in education, employment or training. A lot of effort goes into the structure and support for getting people to university—we can see how to get to university from the moon—but we do not have the same structures around those who do not end up going to university. My hon. Friend makes the good point that we need to encourage home-grown skills.

Hon. Members are used to hearing me complain about the everyday inequalities that islanders face—do not worry, I am not going to mention ferries. However, today is a welcome opportunity to celebrate an area where the island truly punches above its weight: the advanced manufacturing sector. Per capita, the Isle of Wight has one of the highest concentrations of technology and advanced manufacturing businesses in the country. What is particularly exciting is that we are showing no signs of slowing down. New investment, growing businesses and the development of future skills are helping to ensure that the Isle of Wight remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing for years to come.

Far from being a peripheral economy, the island is helping to shape the industries of the future and is proving that innovation can thrive in every corner of the country. Take shipbuilding as an example. Once seen as a traditional industry, it is now a showcase for advanced manufacturing. It is an industry in which the island excels. At Wight Shipyard, aluminium welding skills are among the best in the world, and Diverse Marine combines craftsmanship with cutting-edge design and innovation to produce vessels that are lighter, more space efficient and use less fuel.

That success is built on the achievements of island businesses that are leading the way in advanced manufacturing. Companies such as Vestas are helping to power the UK’s transition to clean energy through the manufacture of wind turbine blades, while GKN Aerospace and BAE Systems continue the island’s proud tradition of high-value engineering and world-class aerospace expertise. Johnson Electric develops and manufactures precision motion technologies that are integrated into products used by millions of people around the world, and Rheinmetall’s specialist vision systems provide advanced capabilities for defence and security operations across the globe.

Then there is Inflight Peripherals Ltd, a company whose design innovation reaches millions of people every year. There is a good chance that anybody who has ever sat in an aircraft cabin and plugged their headphones or a device into an in-seat power module has experienced a piece of Isle of Wight manufacturing without realising it.

Such businesses demonstrate that the Isle of Wight is not just preserving our industrial heritage, but helping to define the future of advanced manufacturing and innovation in the UK.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend mentions some fantastic local businesses in his area, leading the way on the transition to clean power and net zero. Crewe and Nantwich is home to Bentley Motors, one of the area’s largest manufacturing employers. The company recently announced 93 early-career opportunities, including 29 apprenticeships, 15 graduate positions and 49 industrial placements, investing directly in the skills of the next generation of workers. Does my hon. Friend agree that employers such as Bentley are demonstrating the long-term commitment to skills we need to see across the country?

[Richard Quigley]

My hon. Friend is entirely correct. Companies such as Bentley offer good, hands-on skills that can be transferred anywhere. If the company needs someone to test drive one of its vehicles on the Isle of Wight, I am that person.

Across the Isle of Wight, manufacturers are developing specialist composites, marine technologies and precision-engineered products that are exported around the world. Those businesses do not just create jobs, they create highly skilled careers, drive innovation and demonstrate that world-class manufacturing can thrive in the UK, especially on the Isle of Wight.

Earlier this year, I was proud to welcome the Minister for Climate Transition, my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Katie White) to the Isle of Wight, where we visited investors and saw first hand the world-leading manufacturing taking place on our doorstep, helping to lead the way as the country makes the green energy transition. What excited me even more, was the announcement of the new Large Structures Innovation Centre, backed by the National Composites Centre, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the University of Bristol.

The centre will be an open-access national facility dedicated to developing, demonstrating and industrialising large high-performance structures, with an initial focus on next generation wind energy. The significance goes far beyond the investment. If we want Britain to remain a leader in advanced manufacturing, we need a pipeline of highly skilled engineers, technicians, fabricators and composite specialists, who can turn innovation into commercial success.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate and for his excellent contribution. In Derby, apprentices at Alstom are making a huge difference, not just for their own futures but for the rail industry across the UK. More than half the manufacturers I speak to tell me that the shortage in the skills pipeline is their biggest limiting factor for growth. Does my hon. Friend agree that having more apprentices throughout their early years is a key way to reduce that skills gap and help economic growth?

[Richard Quigley]

I thank my hon. Friend from the great city of Derby for his intervention. He makes a good point in the context of university or not university. Even before apprenticeships, work experience that gets people across the threshold of employers is an important step to providing the skills we need for the future.

The Isle of Wight’s Centre of Excellence for Composites, Advanced Manufacturing and Marine is at the heart of that effort, giving young people and adult learners the chance to develop the cutting-edge manufacturing, engineering and technical skills employers need. That is further proof that advanced manufacturing is not just part of the economy of the Isle of Wight, it is a cornerstone of our future, creating highly skilled jobs and providing opportunities for the next generation.

For me, that is one of the most important parts of this debate. Our skills future matters and we must ensure that no young person is left behind or constrained by the outdated assumption that university or academia is the only viable route forward. Two weeks ago, my office hosted its second annual skills summit, where we brought together island employers, educational institutions and training providers to discuss how to ensure that local people have the skills needed for the jobs being created on their doorstep. There is little value in securing investment and manufacturing opportunities if young people are not equipped to take advantage of them.

We need to ensure we invest in the future of this manufacturing ambition. Apprenticeship starts in engineering and manufacturing have fallen by more than 40%, and many manufacturers still cannot access the training they need. That is why the Government’s investment in vocational education, apprenticeships and manufacturing matters. It sends a clear message that there is more than one route to success.

A young person on the island, who is perhaps unsure whether to take the conventional university path, should be able to look at our thriving manufacturing sector and think, “There is a career there for me.” They should be able to see world-leading businesses on the Isle of Wight and know they do not have to leave the island to build a highly skilled, rewarding career. That is what makes the Government’s emphasis on investing in manufacturing and vocational education so exciting, but it is also why we must move further and faster.

After 14 years of chronic underinvestment in both advanced manufacturing and the opportunities available to young people, there is significant ground to make up. If we want Britain to lead in the industries of the future, we need to invest not only in factories, facilities and innovation, but in the people who will design, build and operate them. The success of advanced manufacturing on the Isle of Wight shows what is possible when talent is given the opportunity to thrive. Our challenge now is to ensure that every young person across the country can see a pathway into those careers and access to the training, apprenticeships and the technical education needed to get there.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

The hon. Member is making a powerful speech. Does he agree that the skills shortage can sometimes start with a lack of procurement? For example, factories in my constituency used to clothe the world and Leicester was the second most prosperous city in Europe because of its textile industry. It has gone from having 1,500 factories to 96 because we do not have the procurement or the investments into the factories that give opportunities for skilled workers.

[Richard Quigley]

I could not agree more. The idea that we can move everything offshore because it is cheaper means we are forgetting what value looks like. If we look at models of community wealth building around the country and the world, procurement is where we start.

[Hannah Spencer (Gorton and Denton) (Green)]

Students in Gorton and Denton tell me they often have to spend two to three years on a course before they can even be considered for an apprenticeship. Make UK reports that 39% of manufacturers do not think our education system can deliver the skills that they need. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to make apprenticeships more accessible and flexible so people are not held back from skilled jobs and manufacturers can get the workers they desperately need?

[Richard Quigley]

The Isle of Wight and the north share a lot in common; we often do not get the focus we need. We know how to get to university; that is a structured route. Even if someone does not get the grades, they can get into university—the whole school will get them into university. On the other side, the option is to just go off to a further education college, if they are lucky. I entirely agree with the hon. Lady’s point.

Our challenge now is to ensure that every young person across the country can see a pathway into those careers and access to the training, apprenticeships and the technical education needed to get there because investing in manufacturing is only half the job. Investing in the skills that power it is what turns ambition into long-term economic success.

09:41

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I give special thanks to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this debate and setting the scene incredibly well, as he often does. I wish him well in the work that he does for his constituents; I can honestly say that they are fortunate to have him as their MP.

Manufacturing is a cornerstone of the United Kingdom, but it might be in jeopardy of crumbling as young people are not entering the sector in sufficient numbers as against workers leaving the industry. What is the background to the debate? I always give a Northern Ireland perspective and make asks of the Minister; hopefully that adds to the debate and where we are.

Employment in the advanced manufacturing sector is set to rise, with projected growth of 13% between 2025 and 2035. That is in addition to an estimated 101,000 workers expected to leave manufacturing priority occupations, bringing the total demand to around 148,000 workers. That is a lot of people to train and prepare for work. Part of that is because the manufacturing sector has a largely ageing workforce when compared with the wider working population.

A report in 2026 found that some 50% of engineering and manufacturing small to medium-sized enterprises experienced skills gaps and/or shortages. That comes despite Government support efforts, as nearly three quarters of businesses surveyed felt support to address skills shortages were lacking. That is largely unsurprising; there has been no increase in funding for engineering apprenticeships since 2020. In the last few days, the Government have indicated plans, so perhaps the Minister could tell us more about what is happening. It is the very definition of unsustainable and the quality of products will undoubtedly be affected.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that colleges need more support to develop those engineering courses? At present, they receive no funding at all to develop a new course, as university colleges in Somerset have found when catering for the new Agratas factory. They have to find their own investment to develop courses and they receive no funding until those courses have actually started. Surely that hampers innovation, new training and new skills being developed.

[Jim Shannon]

The Minister is listening intently and I am sure he will be able to respond to the hon. Gentleman and encourage him and all of us, as that is the purpose of us being here.

I will speak about Northern Ireland now. The issue is not unique to Northern Ireland, however skills shortages will be felt particularly acutely there. Northern Ireland boasts of major manufacturers, such as Spirit AeroSystems, Wrightbus, Harland & Wolff and Thales. Thales is one of the defence sector companies that my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) and I visit at least once every year. I primarily go because the majority of workers at Thales come from my Strangford constituency. It has also been encouraging that Thales sets a target for apprenticeships every year and is always oversubscribed.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that apprenticeships are key going forward? We have to increase the number of apprenticeships, the skills base and the productivity—a problem that has beset successive Governments for many years.

[Jim Shannon]

I do. On the work that Thales does with students, it pays their student fees and gives them an incredible wage. Some of the young boys I know from Comber—they are young men now—who have taken the apprenticeships are working incredibly hard across the world in the Thales corporation. There is a network of small engineering firms to supply specialist services. Many of these skilled suppliers operate in and around my constituency of Strangford, making the local economy particularly vulnerable to manufacturing skills shortages.

Harland & Wolff is looking for 500 new workers. It has recruited some 500 already and is hoping to recruit another 500, so there is demand in Northern Ireland for skilled workers. It also offers apprenticeships. Manufacturing accounts for approximately 11% of employment in Northern Ireland, making it a vital contributor to the regional economy. Northern Ireland’s employment is currently the third lowest in the United Kingdom, standing just shy of 900,000. Further strengthening and investing in our manufacturing skills could help expand employment opportunities.

I welcome the Minister to her place and look forward to her response. What discussions has she had with the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that we can enjoy the policy and strategy happening here? I join other Members and those who speak after me in calling on the Government to take urgent action to address the skills shortages across the manufacturing sector. The United Kingdom’s manufacturing and engineering skills gap is estimated to cost businesses more than £5 billion each year. Now is the time to act. It can take three to four years for apprentices to actually learn the skills and add to the companies they are employed with.

I am mindful that some 12 other Members wish to speak. Failing to act now will leave the next generation without the technical skills that employers need. Action must include improving women’s access to manufacturing careers. I am blessed and pleased that, with Harland and Wolff and Spirit, young ladies are getting the opportunity to gain engineering skills—and are taking it—but we could do more to encourage young women in particular to get into manufacturing careers and to create more opportunities for young people to gain practical industrial skills. By widening the talent pool, the Government can help secure the future of manufacturing in Northern Ireland and indeed across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and beyond, protecting skilled manufacturing businesses. That is the purpose of Government, and that is the purpose of the hon. Member for Strangford. Let us see what we can do together.

09:47

[Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this important debate. Wolverhampton and Willenhall helped build Britain and beyond. Generations of skilled engineers, metalworkers and manufacturers made products that were sold across the world. Manufacturing skills are fundamental to places like mine, and call for policymakers, industry, schools and colleges to work together to rise to this Government’s ambition to reindustrialise our country.

As the MP for Wolverhampton North East, I represent a constituency with a proud industrial heritage and a thriving manufacturing base, which forms an industrial ecosystem that supports skilled jobs, innovation and economic growth. While the industries have evolved, the principle has remained the same: success depends on having the skilled workforce to innovate, compete and grow, yet employers across the country continue to report shortages in the technical skills they need to grow and innovate.

I commend Collins Aerospace, which chose Wolverhampton to host its new world-leading engineering centre of excellence for aircraft systems in innovation, leading the charge on collaboration with industry and academia. I was delighted this year when City of Wolverhampton college secured technical excellence college status for advanced manufacturing. That is a rubber stamp of confidence in places such as Wolverhampton, which are now among the national leaders in technical education and helping to develop the future engineers, technicians and skilled manufacturing workers that our local economy needs. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to developing a new school curriculum that values technical and vocational education alongside academic achievement. As a former school leader, I know that for far too long technical routes have been treated as a second choice.

Apprenticeship starts have begun to move in the right direction; in 2024-25, they increased by more than 13,000 on the previous year. That is encouraging progress after years in which they consistently failed to recover to the level needed by our economy and manufacturing sector.

However, many training providers report that funding bands no longer reflect the real cost of delivering high-quality technical training, while employers and colleges continue to face additional costs in training welders, fabricators, CNC machinists and engineering technicians, despite those being precisely the skills that our economy needs more of. A skills policy works best when decisions are made closer to the communities and employers that they affect. Greater devolution of skills and economic development powers gives manufacturing communities in places such as the west midlands a strong voice in shaping local training provision. Local employers, colleges and training providers are often best placed to identify the workforce needs of our advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors.

When will the Government conclude their review of apprenticeship funding bands? Will engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 be prioritised to address critical skills shortages? Will the Government work with Richard Parker, the Mayor of the West Midlands, and with the combined authority, local colleges and schools, training providers and employers, to ensure that Wolverhampton and Willenhall have the engineering and manufacturing skills provision needed to meet the demands of major employers and their supply chains, so that local people can access the highly skilled jobs that will drive Britain’s reindustrialisation?

09:52

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing the debate and shining a light on this really important part of our economy, both locally and nationally.

Specialist manufacturing is critical to my constituency, as well as to growth across the United Kingdom. The Agratas factory being constructed just outside my constituency will employ 4,000 people and have a huge impact on the whole south-west economy. Many of my constituents work there already, and many local suppliers are involved in the supply chain, so the regional economy will be very positively affected.

That is what specialist manufacturing can do for regional economies, but only if we get the skills right to support the sector. In this Chamber last November, I raised the work of University Centre Somerset College Group, which is based at different campuses, not only in my Taunton and Wellington constituency but across Somerset. It is the largest college provider of apprenticeships in England. UCS has had to develop a first-of-its-kind programme to meet demand that barely existed just a couple of years ago, when battery manufacturing was barely a mainstream concept in the UK. It is not an easy task, but it is exactly the kind of innovation required to build a skills base that can support the new specialist manufacturing sectors that we need, such as battery production.

To the Government’s credit, some things have moved on since then, and I genuinely welcome them. In April, they announced a £380 million grant for the factory itself, and UCS was named a clean energy technical excellence college. Last year, I called on Skills England to invest in partnerships that deliver rather than just producing consultation papers that plan and devise. In March—in just three months—it produced a battery manufacturing apprenticeship unit. That is fantastic progress, but there is a great deal still to do. The first pilot course this summer trained nine Agratas staff, but around 1,600 people will be needed just to start battery cell production.

In a written answer the Government gave last month, they said that they are

“supporting University College Somerset’s work with Agratas.”

I welcome that, but I am afraid that the basic problem I raised last year has not gone away. A college that is developing a curriculum and hiring specialist trainers in a completely new industry will receive funding from the Government or other sources only once the course starts, and, as a further education college, it is not allowed to borrow against potential future funding. The current FE model simply does not support the up-front investment that is required, and specialist skills will suffer as a result. Colleges are also no longer allowed to borrow to invest in the student accommodation that they need, even though doing so would generate income, help to regenerate towns and deliver housing—a priority of this Government—in a particular sector to relieve pressure on local family housing. We cannot expect colleges to shoulder all the risk of investments and initiatives while the Government take credit only for the positive outcomes.

This issue is not just about specialist manufacturing skills; building sites such as the Agratas facility requires an enormous amount of construction skills and labour. Figures from Agratas show that in the peak year of activity, the building of the first factory will support more than 3,000 jobs in the south-west, which is equivalent to around a fifth of all construction jobs in Somerset. That comes on top of Hinkley Point C, which is close to my constituency and also needs many workers skilled in the same area. If we are serious about boosting regional growth through specialist manufacturing, we need to be equally serious about training the people who will build and work in such facilities. The Liberal Democrats have called for apprentices to be paid at least the national minimum wage, and for lifelong skills grants so that adults can retrain for new industries.

I have four asks for the Minister. First, when the Government say that they are “supporting” the work of UCS with Agratas, does that support cover the up-front cost of developing innovative courses? Secondly, will the Government make sure that colleges can set up apprenticeships and skills training in advance of factories being built? Thirdly, does the Minister agree that colleges should be able to forward-fund student accommodation to deliver much-needed housing? Finally, will the Minister meet me and UCS College Group to discuss those points? For Taunton and Wellington, and for the whole south-west, the opportunity is right in front of us. I welcome and congratulate the Government on their backing the Agratas factory with £380 million. They now need to grab the opportunity with both hands, and provide the support and certainty on skills to turn it into a real success.

09:57

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. Doncaster has an incredible history of manufacturing, particularly in transport. Everyone will know of the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, both of which were built in Doncaster, and Nigel Gresley still has a strong legacy in our local culture. However, right now, all eyes in Doncaster are on another form of transport. Yesterday, we received the fantastic news that my long-standing commitment to reopen Doncaster Sheffield airport has been supercharged by an agreement to bring the airport back into public ownership. That incredible achievement comes after a huge amount of work from all involved.

The DSA project is not just about the airport: the deal also covers the adjacent innovation quarter, which has the potential to become a centre for advanced manufacturing, innovation and, ultimately, re-industrialisation for our area. The Prime Minister has put public control, re-industrialisation and localism at the heart of his mission for this country, and Doncaster could not be a better case study for all three, both for how badly they are needed and for the enormous scope for opportunity. When the pits closed, huge parts of my constituency were left behind. De-industrialisation changed the faces of Rossington, Hatfield, Thorne and Moorends, and nothing has ever filled that gap—that is, until now.

All the pieces are in place for Doncaster to become a centre for manufacturing and industry once again. We have excellent logistical connections through road and rail, proximity to the Humber ports, and soon, once it is reopened, the airport. We have major distribution and logistics hubs, including the iPort and the Unity development. Our two Labour mayors and our proactive chamber of commerce work tirelessly to bring jobs and growth to every postcode. We also have educational infrastructure in place, with one existing university technical college and a second one having been approved, as well as other wonderful FE colleges including John Leggott, New College and North Lindsey, to name but a few.

All we need to do now is make sure we develop the skills and the workforce to match the opportunities that lie ahead. We cannot wait until factories are built and businesses recruiting before we begin training the people they will need. I welcome the Government’s commitment to advanced manufacturing through our industrial strategy and the reforms to the growth and skills levy, including new foundation apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing, but we need to make sure that the skills we teach match the skills and needs of the industries we are trying to attract, and that we provide opportunities for existing workers to retrain and develop new skills as well. That means bringing together Government, local authorities, businesses and education providers to plan for the industries and jobs of the future.

Will the Minister outline how the Government are working to ensure that investment in manufacturing skills is aligned with major regional development projects, such as South Yorkshire airport city? In Doncaster, we have seen what happens when industry disappears and nothing comes along to replace it. We know all too well the impact on our economy, on the community and on people and their families. But we have a chance now to regain lost pride and purpose, a chance for the places blighted by deprivation to flourish and prosper once again, and a chance to rebuild our industrial economy. We must make sure that the people of Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme have the skills to take advantage of it.

10:01

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair today, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this debate.

We hardly make anything any more. For decades, Scotland has been the victim of industrial vandalism, with our manufacturing base hammered. Last year Petroineos—in other words, the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Chinese Government—ended a century of oil refining at Grangemouth. Ultimately, private capital and a foreign Government decided that 435 jobs were to be lost on site, along with 2,822 in the wider supply chain, removing a positive destination for local young people. Over £400 million per annum was lost from Scotland’s national economy, and Scotland’s fuel security was weakened.

In my time in this place, I have been critical of both the Scottish and UK Governments. I stand by that criticism, but the truth is that the SNP Scottish Government knew about the closure for three years and did absolutely nothing to stop it. I will not allow anyone in the SNP to rewrite history on that—although I do not need to, because as everyone can see, SNP Members could not be bothered to attend the debate this morning. They are taking their passion for abstentionism and lack of participation in this place to a new level.

This year, there is yet more industrial devastation as Alexander Dennis’s Canadian owners, NFI, stop bus manufacturing in Scotland, with 115 job losses. That is another piece of Scotland’s manufacturing base deemed disposable by international capital. And yet again the SNP Scottish Government have abandoned workers. Some 334 zero-emission buses were to be built through the ScotZEB3 scheme. Alexander Dennis was awarded 123; the Chinese company Yutong was awarded 166. The truth is that in Scottish politics it was the working class that propelled the SNP into generational power, and the SNP has rewarded communities with buses from Beijing. There are redundancies at Ferguson Marine. We are seeing the creation and promotion of the Tory idea of freeports, which means international tax havens for private capital to extract resources and wealth from Scotland. Make no mistake: the SNP is comfortable with all of that.

With manufacturing, we are on the cusp of a green industrial revolution. We have an opportunity with renewables. But what have the SNP Scottish Government done to create new manufacturing jobs in that sector? They have had off-the-record meetings with corporations looking to get involved in Scotland’s renewable industry. The end result is a green investment portfolio worth £3 billion of green assets that were to be bought by private firms. That is money that the Scottish Government could have ploughed into manufacturing skills and job creation, transforming communities. Instead of building a Scottish manufacturing base that would create worker and community prosperity, the SNP went for outsourcing, privatisation and the continuation of pandering to foreign capital. The SNP are capitalists to their very core.

I do not hold the desire for independence against the SNP or anyone that identifies as a Scottish nationalist—not in the slightest. Indeed, I respect their view. The reason I have no time for the Scottish National party is that it has decimated Scottish manufacturing and waged war on the Scottish working class.

10:05

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. For many people growing up in Portsmouth, the shipyard was a constant visual reminder that we are a city and a country that made things, and that we made important things: ships that defended our country, protected our freedom and protected British expertise around the world.

The Portsmouth that people remember was full of people with skilled jobs—men and women who took pride in their work, in what they produced and in the contributions that they were making to their communities. There was a clear connection between effort, skill and opportunity. Young people could see a future for themselves. They could look around the city and see where hard work and talent could take them. Unfortunately, over the years, that connection has been weakened. The loss of shipbuilding and other industrial jobs under the Conservatives has meant that too many young people today are not seeing the same opportunities as previous generations. But it is not just a challenge for young people; it is also a challenge for British business. Manufacturers repeatedly tell us that they struggle to recruit people with the right skills.

Before entering politics, I was a teacher for 24 years. Throughout that time, I saw countless young people with enormous potential, but too often those talents were not valued in the way that they should have been. This has to change. We need an education system that values technical excellence just as highly as academic achievement—a system that recognises that our country needs first-class engineers as much as it needs lawyers, accountants or academics.

If we truly want to reindustrialise Britain, we must first rebuild the pipeline of skills that make industrial success possible. That is why this Government’s reforms are so important. I am delighted that from the age of 14, young people will have the opportunity to combine core academic subjects such as English, maths and science with high-quality vocational subjects. They will be able to spend more time with employers, gain real-world experience and develop the practical skills that businesses are looking for, but more importantly, they will be able to see a pathway. That connection matters enormously. The local connection means opportunity for young people and confidence for employers that they can invest, expand and create jobs, knowing that the skilled workers they need will be available.

I have long argued that apprenticeships and training need to be more flexible and more responsive to the needs of different sectors, so I am pleased that the Government are taking these steps with manufacturing. Fixing the skills shortage is not about filling vacancies; it is about building our national capability. Nowhere is that more evident than in a sector that is extremely important to my constituency: the space sector.

The next iteration of the Skynet satellite programme is currently out for procurement. This is a crucial decision for our national security, sovereign space capability and industrial future—and for my city’s future. At Airbus in Portsmouth, highly skilled workers manufacture the payloads, the brains of the satellite. Airbus remains the only company capable of building large spacecraft end to end in the United Kingdom.

The Skynet programme sustains 3,000 highly skilled jobs directly and supports 18,000 jobs across the supply chain. These are skills and capabilities built over decades and they cannot be easily recreated if lost. If we are serious about reindustrialisation, we must be serious about protecting the skills and industrial capabilities that we already have. We cannot simply create shiny new jobs; we must protect the ones we have already. It is not enough to talk about creating skilled jobs if we fail to safeguard the jobs that still exist.

I share the Prime Minister’s ambition to back British industry, strengthen our capabilities and create good jobs in every part of the country. That includes my city. I ask the Minister to impress upon colleagues in the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence the importance of protecting and sustaining these world-class space manufacturing skills in Portsmouth. We know that rebuilding British manufacturing strength begins with investment in skills, but it must continue with supporting the skills and industry that we already have. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that the next generation can once again look at my city, just as I looked at Portsmouth shipyard growing up, and see a future full of opportunities, purpose and pride.

10:09

[Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this important debate at a time when our economy is undergoing transformation. AI, robotics and automation are changing how we manufacture and the skills that our businesses need. If we are serious about reindustrialisation, we have to make sure that our workforce is ready to seize the opportunity that those changes will bring. For places like my constituency of Mansfield, that means rebuilding the connections between education, local employees and employers, and skilled employment. Further education providers, including colleges like West Notts college in my constituency, are critical to delivering that.

On constituency visits, I have been fortunate to see the great work that is already being done by employers working in partnership with West Notts college and Nottingham Trent University. One such visit was to a local aerospace and nuclear electronics company, Glenair, which has recently taken on 60 new apprentices in Mansfield. Often, people consider apprenticeships as an option for school leavers, but what I find in my area is that those opportunities exist equally for adults who want to retrain, change careers or develop new skills. I am therefore very encouraged that Mansfield recorded 680 new apprenticeship starts in 2024-25, more than half of which were taken up by people over the age of 25.

The backdrop to this discussion, as Make UK has reported, is that there are almost 50,000 live vacancies across UK manufacturing. Three in five small or medium-sized manufacturing enterprises identify a lack of the right type of technical skill as a key barrier to recruitment. That apparent weakness can also be seen as an opportunity. For areas like mine, reindustrialisation and the ideas around it represent a real chance to build on our proud industrial heritage and create a new generation of skilled and well-paid jobs, but we have to make sure that local people have the skills to take on those opportunities, whether they are young people starting their careers or adults looking to retrain and learn something new, and skills for a new economy. If we get that right, as a Government and as a country, we can make sure that the industries of the future bring investment, opportunity and prosperity to places like Mansfield and that local people are properly equipped to play their full part in sharing our economic future.

10:13

[Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing the debate.

I am incredibly proud to represent Stoke-on-Trent South, which includes part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent—a city with a proud heritage in craftship and industry. Stoke is the birthplace of the Lunar Society, a group of amazing, innovative thinkers, including the great innovator, Josiah Wedgwood. The Lunar Society helped fuel the industrial revolution, and manufacturing is embedded within Stoke-on-Trent and its people.

With the Government’s reindustrialisation agenda, now is the time to invest in creative and advanced manufacturing skills so that our young people can secure highly paid specialist jobs. That is why I want first to mention the excellent myFuture initiative, which was raised with me by Stoke-on-Trent sixth form and the Potteries Educational Trust, and is delivered in partnership with Keele University, the University of Staffordshire, the Careers & Enterprise Company and local SMEs. The initiative is delivering an employer-led skills framework for ages 10 to 19—indeed, up to 25—to over 63,000 students. It delivers a co-designed curriculum experience for 14 to 19-year-olds, with employer-linked career gateways helping teachers to embed employer engagement activities into study and address local skills gaps. MyFuture is seeking support from the Department for Education to become a funded pathfinder project. Will the Minister work with DFE colleagues to support the proposal where gateways align with manufacturing?

Of course, I could not speak in a debate on manufacturing without mentioning ceramics. From iconic tableware manufacturers such as 1882 and Duchess China in my constituency, to advanced ceramics firms such as Mantec, ceramics have shaped our local identity. While ceramics are best known for the products we all love, such as mugs and tableware, advanced ceramics are the hidden backbone of modern manufacturing. They are essential components in the supply chain for high-tech industries, including defence, electronics, nuclear energy, construction and aerospace engineering.

Across the UK, the sector contributes more than £2 billion annually, employs approximately 20,000 people and supports thousands more jobs through the related supply chains. We are incredibly lucky that north Staffordshire is the hotbed of this activity. However, businesses repeatedly tell me that skills shortages are having a significant impact. Experienced workers are retiring, taking decades of specialist knowledge with them, and too few young people are entering the industry. Valuable heritage skills are being lost entirely as employers struggle to attract and retain trainees. Recently, I spoke to an amazing entrepreneur whose business using our creamware is going from strength to strength, but she is concerned for the future, as the person she depends on will soon be retiring. She risks losing his skills and we risk losing her business overseas if we do not fix our skills pipeline.

This is an increasing problem, and it is time we truly focused on backing British products. There is a need to train an estimated 200 to 400 operatives per year in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle in traditional ceramics alone. In advanced ceramics, emerging technologies such as ceramic matrix composites do not yet have recognised apprenticeship or qualification routes. Specialist technical manufacturing knowledge is being lost, with no national masterplan to replace the capability.

I was delighted to see the launch of the craft technician apprenticeship earlier this year, led by Emma Bridgewater in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) and supported by Ceramics UK, Skills England and Creative Alliance. Such initiatives are exactly what the sector needs to help the next generation of skilled workers. I also welcome the Government’s £120 million investment to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation in the ceramics industry. Although that funding is important, I would welcome the Minister’s assurance that future funding will consider skills.

At the heart of our reindustrialisation plans sits manufacturing in all its forms. It is the bedrock of our national economy, growth and resilience. We must invest in our future, our people and our skills.

10:18

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Meur ras, Sir Christopher; it is an honour to serve under your chairship. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for adopting this important debate. It will not surprise him that I am going to talk largely about Cornwall.

Across Cornwall, our beautiful coastlines hide some of the deepest pockets of deprivation in the country. That deprivation and the lack of opportunity is felt most sharply by our young people. In my constituency, we have neighbourhoods where the child poverty rate is over 40%. Equally concerning is the number of young people claiming unemployment benefit, which is up 39% in the last year alone. But there is hope on the horizon for Cornwall. Our critical minerals sector offers an incredible opportunity to create well-paid, highly skilled jobs that our young people and communities need, all while strengthening the country’s industrial resilience and supporting the transition to a green economy. However, we will realise that opportunity only if young people are equipped with the skills that our local economy and businesses need. To that end, we are moving in the right direction.

In September, the new Engineering Mining Academy was launched at Cornwall college, which has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, in partnership with Cornish Metals, based at the South Crofty tin mine. The academy’s location could hardly be better, as it is moments around the corner from South Crofty, which was the last tin mine in the UK to close and is now on course to reopen after 30 years. As projects like South Crofty and the Agratas battery gigafactory advance, demand for mining and manufacturing skills will only grow. I therefore welcome the academy’s focus not only on the engineering and technical skills associated with modern mining, but on transferable skills that create a clear pathway into apprenticeships, employment or further study: welding, construction, carpentry, electronics, plumbing—a lifetime trade for our young people with their hands.

Those are the partnerships with industry that we must champion to support our critical minerals and downstream manufacturing sectors. They create good jobs and give young people the aspiration and opportunity to raise their horizons and to build their futures in Cornwall. I therefore ask the Minister to consider what further steps can be taken to realise Cornwall’s potential as the UK’s critical minerals skills hub.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

Order. The winding-up speeches will have to begin at half-past 10.

10:21

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to take part in a debate with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher, and in one led by my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley)—the UK’s spokesperson for ferries.

The Government are rightly talking about reindustrialisation at the moment. We can see how well supported that is by Labour Members, given the number of us who want to contribute to the debate, but too often talk of reindustrialisation can lead people to think that we are trying to go back to the past. That is not true anywhere in the country, but especially in the west midlands, where we have a proud manufacturing tradition. Yes, that has been depleted, and many communities across the region are still scarred by that, but communities are also really looking forward to a brighter future in which industrialisation can come back.

Central to manufacturing in my part of the world—Staffordshire—is ceramics. I am proud to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), who talked about ceramics in north Staffordshire, but in my part of the world we talk about a different type of ceramics: toilets. Every single Member of this House will have spent a penny with Armitage Shanks at some point, because it has been operating for over 200 years in the village of Armitage, in my constituency. The ceramics industry as a whole supports 20,000 skilled jobs and produces toilets and plates, but also bricks, pipes and the technical ceramics spoken about earlier. Those jobs are essential to economic growth and the economic wellbeing of the entire country, but especially to communities in the north midlands, where so much of the ceramics industry is based.

That is really important to those communities, but it is also really important for what the Government are seeking to achieve. The Government rightly talk about ending the housing crisis, and about the need to make sure that there is enough housing stock available for every single person in this country. I would wager that every one of us would expect to see at least one toilet in every single one of those new houses. The last volume producer of sanitaryware anywhere in the country is in a little village called Armitage, which is not far from Lichfield. The Government have already done much to talk about the importance of industry, the importance of manufacturers like Armitage Shanks, and the importance of the skills that such companies need. We have already seen changes to the functional skills requirement for apprenticeships, which I wholeheartedly support, and that has led to an increase in the number of young people taking up that opportunity. It is a great step in the right direction, as is talking about vocational GCSEs.

As important as it is to see skills coming through, we also need to make sure that businesses provide the jobs in which those skills can be used, which is why I am so pleased that the Government were able to provide a £120 million rescue package for the ceramics industry—funding that is desperately needed to help the industry regenerate itself, look forward to the 21st century, decarbonise and continue to drive economic growth. However, that funding is no good if it is sitting in a bank account in Whitehall waiting to be delivered; we need to get it out of the door faster to ensure that both sides of the equation of manufacturing skills—the manufacturers and the skills—are working hand in hand. Will the Minister have a conversation with her colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to ensure that we are leaving no stone unturned to push that funding out the door? We need to get it into the ceramics industry so that it can provide jobs, and so that the skills we are trying to build can be pushed forward into companies and help drive economic growth in every postcode in the country, but especially in WS15.

10:25

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing the debate—much like in Yorkshire, in the Isle of Wight west is best. Too many people’s vision of manufacturing is the dark satanic mills of the past, but in Calder Valley that is not what it looks like; it is robotics, advanced materials and precision engineering. How can we provide the skilled workers for those industries without the proper training?

Too many industrial communities have been told that decline was inevitable—a poverty of ambition since Thatcher—but in Calder Valley, manufacturing employs about 16% of the workforce. Twenty years ago, that figure was 25%, but we can go the other way. When we lose manufacturing jobs, we lose skills, confidence and opportunities in an area, and we lose the sense that a young person can build a good life whatever they choose to do. A manufacturing wage is about 8% above the average wage, and we need a skilled workforce, particularly when one looks at the NEET crisis. About 8.5% of 18 to 24-year-olds in Calder Valley are on unemployment benefits and not in training, but the industrial sector’s workforce has aged faster than the rest of the workforce; the average age is over 50. That is not sustainable.

One managing director in my constituency started at 16 on a YTS. He joined me in 11 Downing Street last year. That is the kind of success story that skilled manufacturing jobs can bring, and that is what I want to see more of in Calder Valley, but manufacturing needs to feel like an option. Denford engineering in my constituency makes equipment for schools and runs the international STEM racing competition. Its chief executive asked me, “Why don’t we talk about design and manufacturing rather than design and technology, which is less meaningful to people?” It is that kind of shift that we need in order to get people to think about the future of manufacturing and consider it as an option.

In Calder Valley, we have just secured the Yorkshire robotics adoption hub, hosted by the brilliant West Yorkshire Manufacturing Services in Brighouse. It will work with more than 300 manufacturers to get them ready to work with robotics and the skills of the future. It is those kinds of innovations that can give us those skills. I ask the Minister: what more can we do to supply that confidence in business and build skills for the next generation?

10:27

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing the debate. I am particularly fond of this discussion because, in a slightly tenuous link, my late grandad Bill Dibley was born and raised on the Isle of Wight and went on to become an electrical engineer. When I was about five, he made me my first circuit board to play with, which ignited my love of innovation. I am sure he would be delighted that we are here supporting the great legacy of technical skills in the Isle of Wight and the whole UK. I am grateful to private companies in my constituency such as BAE Systems, which, in its Academy for Skills and Knowledge, trains apprentices for both its own organisation and the surrounding supply chain.

I want to make two quick key points. Under the EU, areas such as mine in Lancashire were among the biggest beneficiaries of skills support and funding, but now, as schemes such as the apprenticeship brokerage service go only to mayoral areas, which Lancashire is not, we risk losing so much of our progress. I have been encouraged by the Prime Minister’s focus on reindustrialisation and this Government’s commitment to growth in every postcode, but we need to ensure that it means exactly that.

I also have a lot of food manufacturing companies in my heavily rural constituency. One of those is Baxi, which typically would look to take on around 30 apprentices each year. However, this year, because of wider financial pressures, it has not been able to take on any. We must address skills shortages, not just by encouraging more young people into manufacturing, but by ensuring that businesses have the means to invest in them.

I am grateful that this Government believe deeply in technical education, and we know that the public are with us, because 93% of people believe that manufacturing is important for growing the UK’s economy, but we have to ensure that the cost of doing business is not too high to develop those skills, and that all parts of the UK are supported to contribute to building our skills base here.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

John Grady, you have half a minute.

10:29

[John Grady (Glasgow East) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this debate.

I regularly meet fantastic employers in Glasgow who want to employ young people, but the college places to train them in the skills those businesses need are not available. That is an absolute failure and is making Glasgow poorer, despite the fact that we have fantastic opportunities in manufacturing. Glasgow has a city deal through the Glasgow city region. That is something to build on for regional devolution, because it is local employers, local businesses and local colleges that understand how best to get the skills in place to grow the local and regional economy, but we have an absolutely botched reform of local government being carried out in Scotland in the minute—the SNP is making a complete mess of it. The Prime Minister was right when he spoke in Scotland on Friday about the need to get power out of Edinburgh and into the city regions and the regions of Scotland, so we can help businesses to thrive, give young people the opportunities we want them to have, and seize Scotland’s great future.

[Hon. Members]

Hear, hear!

10:30

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate.

I start with some numbers we should celebrate: UK manufacturing produces output worth £220 billion and supports 2.6 million jobs, paying on average 8% more than the rest of the economy, and it accounts for 42% of our exports and almost half of all business research and development. It is a sector of skilled, well-paid careers that we are rightly proud of, but it is also a sector that could do more if it had more of the skilled people it needs.

Skills England identifies advanced manufacturing as having the third highest proportion of skills shortage vacancies of any sector, and projects that 84% of the additional jobs in its priority occupations to 2035 will need qualifications at level 4 or above. The businesses in Cambridgeshire that kindly shared their insights with me in advance of this debate described problems that I suspect Members from every part of the country will recognise. One electronics firm, Cap Air, told me that although electronics is the largest manufacturing sub-sector in our region, the county is a dead spot for the sort of technical education it needs, with training necessitating travel outside the county. There is no occupational standard for much of the work the company does. As Cap Air put it,

“You cannot fund a course for a job the system does not recognise.”

That is a national problem for Skills England, but lack of local provision is something places could fix for themselves. I hope the Prime Minister’s well-known enthusiasm for devolution extends to giving areas like ours the skills, powers and capital funding to do it.

Another manufacturer in my constituency, ZEISS, which makes electron microscopes, makes a related point about the future. Advanced manufacturing now combines traditional mechanical and electrical engineering with automation, software, data and AI, and we need to build those capabilities now before they become critical shortages, not just fill today’s vacancies. In 2024-25, there were over 46,000 starts in engineering and manufacturing in England, but level 2 manufacturing starts fell by 80% in the five years to 2023-24. That is a significant problem in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Liberal Democrats have long called for the apprenticeship levy to be replaced, so we welcome the Government’s move to a more flexible growth and skills levy, but we recognise that progress has been slow. Apprenticeship units have been available since April, yet the skills charity Enginuity found that a fifth of manufacturing SMEs have never heard of them, and only one in 10 think that they will fill their skills gaps. On the Department’s own forecasts, apprenticeship spending is due to fall after this year, even as levy receipts rise.

Employers tell me that the system needs to be straightforward for employers to use, responsive to changing industrial needs, and attractive to young people as a genuine alternative to university, but too often it is none of those things for smaller firms. The apprenticeship model may work for large employers, but a firm of 20 cannot easily release a young employee for two or sometimes three days a week to a college that might be miles away. It is also difficult for them to carry the paperwork that comes with. Another manufacturer in my constituency, Domino Printing Sciences, pointed out that employers pay into the levy but cannot use it to cover much of the real cost of employing and developing an apprentice, as the funding bands for many engineering apprenticeships simply do not cover the cost of delivery. As a result, we have employers with skills gaps, young people who need good routes into careers, and apprenticeship funding that is not fully used.

As hon. Members might expect me to say, there is a lot that the Government could take from Liberal Democrat policy. We would like to introduce skills tax credits with enhanced relief for priority sectors to reflect the fact that skills are an investment. We would also establish structures for skills co-operatives—I know the Prime Minister likes co-operatives—so that smaller firms can pool training resources and even rotate apprentices between them. We would also expand higher technical routes, such as higher national certificates, higher national diplomas, foundation degrees and higher apprenticeships, building on the investment already made in FE colleges and institutes of technology.

We would like Skills England to be a truly independent body with employers at its heart. Already in its short life, it has been moved from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions. It remains an Executive agency in that Department and is not the independent voice for skills that employers really need, so I urge the Government to look again at giving it genuine independence.

I have three questions for the Minister. First, levy receipts are forecast to be £4.5 billion this year, but after the devolved nations’ share and England’s £3.3 billion budget, about £700 million will not be returned to the skills system but will stay with the Treasury. On the Government’s own spending predictions, that will rise to about £1 billion next year. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that the money raised for skills is spent on skills and is not clawed back by the Treasury?

Secondly, will the review of funding bands address the shortfall of up to £8,000 per apprentice that employers face in engineering and manufacturing? Thirdly, will the Minister press Skills England to develop occupational standards for a wider variety of manufacturing roles, such as printed circuit board assembly, which the system currently cannot see? Nyobolt, a battery manufacturer in my constituency, put it well: the opportunity now is to make sure the skills pipeline develops at the same pace as the technology.

Skills, like manufacturing investment itself, require multi-year, long-horizon decisions. Industry needs a long-term, stable plan from the Government, and I hope the Minister will tell us that it is coming.

10:37

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to respond on behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition and to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing time in this House for this really important topic. I have heard a lot of very good speakers, and I agree with their sentiment. Although we may not always agree on every policy issue, I do agree that our best years are ahead of us.

Before I was a Member of Parliament, I was a director of the local enterprise partnership in the west midlands. I remember my first ever meeting, in which I spoke to the chair of an FE college, who told me that the time between what his college could deliver and what businesses said that they wanted was about three years. That told me two things, as a small business owner: that the skills landscape is incredibly complex and difficult for businesses to navigate, and that demand plays a huge role. I will talk about demand in a bit.

The UK’s manufacturing sector is hugely important, accounting for roughly 8.5% of total economic output across the country, and employing roughly 2.6 million people. I was delighted that the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner) mentioned the Lunar Society, because I was a member of a modern-day Lunar Society—in fact, I helped to write its constitution. I was pleased that she put that on the record.

I am the proud Member of Parliament for Meriden and Solihull East, a constituency in the heart of the west midlands. We are also a UK manufacturing powerhouse, because we are the home of Jaguar Land Rover. The west midlands remains the UK’s leading manufacturing region, and Jaguar Land Rover is right at the heart of that. The region contributes £10.4 billion and employs more than 200,000 people.

The shadow Chancellor and I recently visited Rolls-Royce, which has a huge facility in the west midlands. I invite the Minister to visit it, because it does a huge amount of work. I know it is said that the UK does not manufacture anything anymore, but I reject that; I do not think it is true. I saw at first hand engines and control panels being built for some of our most important and sensitive projects, and met a number of apprentices, who showed how important apprenticeships are. I am proud that the previous Government over 14 years created more than 5.2 million apprenticeships.

As shadow Minister of State for Education, I regularly hold meetings with businesses, further education colleges and others who are very concerned about skills shortages in the manufacturing sector. In July, I hosted a roundtable in Parliament with Enginuity, a charity focused on closing skills gaps in the UK’s engineering and manufacturing sector. It was clear from the businesses we met that they expect the Government to do much more to help support manufacturing, and help engineering businesses to recruit the best talent. We spoke at length about some of the findings in Enginuity’s recent “Mind the Gap” report. Its research found that around half of surveyed SMEs reported skills-related issues in the past year, with 36% experiencing skills gaps and difficulty recruiting workers. It estimates that the failure to plug that gap in manufacturing skills costs the UK economy £5.2 billion annually. That is clearly an important area that needs to be fixed, we must all agree.

I would like to know about the Minister’s relationship with the DFE and how she works to ensure that the advanced manufacturing workforce is skilled, not just at NEET-level but throughout careers and lifelong learning. I am confident about the future of the UK’s manufacturing sector. It is a growing industry that will offer varied and exciting jobs for the future, but there are significant challenges coming manufacturers’ way as a result of Government policy, which we already see.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister wrote in The Times about the prospect of Britain facing

“economic catastrophe and moral failure”

because a generation of young workers has been written off to a life on benefits. I agree, because youth unemployment is now 16.4%. When the Conservatives left office, it was 14.2%, so there has been a significant increase. There are currently one million 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training. I welcome the Government’s focus on reducing that number, because we will support them in the right policies; unfortunately, however, it is the view of His Majesty’s Opposition that the Government’s approach to tackling that grave injustice is entirely wrong.

I have talked about demand in this sector. The drastic shortage of jobs in sectors such as manufacturing is a result of the Government’s policy platform. I did not once hear Labour Members talk about the impact of national insurance, tax and the reduction in the national insurance threshold, or that the cost of employing an apprentice has gone up so much that is has become challenging for businesses to take them on. Where they are employed, the opportunity cost means that fewer apprentices are taken on, as a result of such policies. It is obvious to us that the Government’s tax policies are making it harder for young people to get into good jobs.

That is not just the view of the Opposition. Huw Pill, chief economist at the Bank of England, agrees that higher national insurance contributions and the Government’s increase in the national living and minimum wage have priced out entry-level workers, many of them young people.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Could the shadow Minister set out exactly, in pounds and pence, how much less he thinks apprentices and young people should be paid today than they are under the current minimum wage?

[Saqib Bhatti]

I reject the framing of the question. [Laughter.] No one finds youth unemployment funny. Many business owners talk to me about what happens when a young apprentice is interviewed. They say that if they have a 25-year-old with experience versus an 18-year-old with no experience, that hinders the prospects of hiring them. That is the reality. I am sure the hon. Gentleman is a conscientious MP, so I encourage him to pose that question to his small business owners in the way I framed it.

[Brian Leishman]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

[Saqib Bhatti]

No, I am going to carry on. When met with reality, the Government’s plans in this space fall far too short. The Government have made lots of noise about recruiting targets. I just noticed that the Government announced 40,000 new construction placements every single year. Will the Minister confirm whether that is the same or a different version of the announcement made in a Government press release in August 2025, which mentioned

“40,000 future builders, bricklayers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers”?

Government by press release is one thing but recycling old press releases is something else. Those apprentices deserve better.

There has also been no mention of the impact of the Government’s fiscal policies. Just as we were having this debate, I saw a headline saying job vacancies are at their lowest in 12 years. There are 176,000 fewer jobs now than when Labour took office.

Members have mentioned the Education Secretary’s ambition to close off academic options and offer more vocational options for the 14-to-16 age group. I am deeply sceptical of that policy, and the Opposition are calling for an evidence-based approach. When a previous Labour Government introduced similar reforms, fewer children from poorer backgrounds ended up going into academic subjects. They were funnelled into vocational work. We believe that plenty of people who would have been able to get into higher-quality jobs were funnelled off at a lower age, so we are deeply sceptical. The policy announcement is welcome, but we are yet to see significant detail. Many of the headteachers I spoke to last week asked how their teachers will be trained to deliver vocational subjects and where the funding will come from.

We are incredibly proud of the reforms instituted by the previous Conservative Government, which have meant that England’s education delivery is among the best and most resilient in the world, according to the programme for international student assessment rankings. When I meet people from the advanced manufacturing sector, they laud the fact that a knowledge-rich curriculum has helped young people to gain critical and analytical skills, including in numeracy. We are really worried that some of the Education Secretary’s announcements will undermine opportunities for young people.

The criticism comes not just from the Opposition. Jon White, the chief financial officer at building materials firm Huws Gray, has said that employers are struggling with a lack of incentives to hire younger people. He pointed to the Government’s narrowing of the gap in respect of the national minimum wage, which I have alluded to, and said that they should change the rules in respect of how employers can spend the apprenticeship levy. I hope the Minister can shed a bit of light on some of the questions around the apprenticeship levy.

Making it easier for employers to hire young people is really important, which is why we have pledged to halve employer national insurance for young people aged 21 to 24, to help them get to into work. We have also offered more incentives to small businesses to take on young people. Small businesses are often lauded as the lifeblood of the UK economy and the high street, and they, not big businesses, are the greatest employers of young people across the country. We believe our approach will free up the business sector and manufacturing to employ more young people; I would welcome the Minister’s response.

10:47

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate and making such a strong case for manufacturing skills, both on the Isle of Wight and across the country. As he set out, the Isle of Wight punches above its weight in advanced manufacturing. Businesses including Wight Shipyard, Diverse Marine and GKN Aerospace demonstrate the breadth of modern British manufacturing, from shipbuilding and aerospace to clean energy, defence and precision engineering. My hon. Friend is right that this is not simply about preserving Britain’s industrial heritage; it is about building the industries, supply chains and skilled careers of the future.

I particularly welcome my hon. Friend’s focus on the new Large Structures Innovation Centre and Isle of Wight College’s specialist centre for engineering and advanced manufacturing training. Investment in facilities and innovation must go hand in hand with investment in people, so that employers have access to workers with the skills they need, and local people can benefit from the opportunities being created.

My hon. Friend was also right to recognise the strengths of Derby, from rail and automotive to aerospace and nuclear power. Alongside the Team Derby initiative, those strengths demonstrate the benefits of bringing together industry, skills and investment to support growth.

As we have heard, across the UK manufacturing contributed £229 billion to the economy last year and supported 2.5 million jobs, with advanced manufacturing alone supporting around 770,000 jobs. But we need to prepare for the future: 36% of the manufacturing workforce is aged over 50, and Skills England projects demand for around 148,000 workers in priority occupations in advanced manufacturing by 2035, reflecting both growth and the need to replace those who leave the sector. That is why skills are central to our approach to growth in every postcode. We are investing more than £1 billion in sector skills packages, including £182 million for engineering, to strengthen technical training and build the workforce needed by advanced manufacturing and other growth-driving sectors.

My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West made an important wider point. As well as creating the skilled workforces that businesses need to grow, we need to ensure that young people have the opportunities they need to start, stay and succeed in high-demand sectors. The Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), talked about youth unemployment; I remind him that between 2021 and 2024 the number of young people not in employment, education or training rose by a quarter of a million and the Conservatives did nothing. That is why we are reforming vocational routes for young people, including apprenticeships and technical education, and investing in technical excellence colleges, strengthening careers education and expanding work experience to help young people to move from education into skilled employment.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) said, we need clear technical pathways that begin before young people make crucial choices and continue into further education, apprenticeships and skilled work. That starts with technical education from age 14, on an equal footing with academic education, to help more young people to access technical qualifications alongside their GCSEs, careers guidance and relevant work experience.

[Perran Moon]

Will the Minister give way?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I will not because I am short on time. If I have time later, I will.

We have also announced new vocational GCSEs to give young people greater choice and equip them with practical knowledge and skills. After GCSEs, young people need routes that are easy to understand and valued by employers. This week is T-level week; these qualifications in engineering and manufacturing combine specialist classroom learning with a substantial industry placement, giving students experience of the workplace and a route into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or further study.

From 2028, V-levels in engineering design and engineering manufacturing will provide a broader applied route, while occupational certificates will offer a two-year route towards skilled roles such as engineering operative, autocare technician and welder. Foundation certificates will help students who need additional preparation before they progress to level 3 study. Together, the reforms will provide greater choice and clearer progression into manufacturing careers.

[Gareth Snell]

I declare an interest as a governor of City of Stoke-on-Trent sixth-form college. The previous Government decimated the BTEC programme, creating the gap that V-levels are filling, but V-levels are going to be short qualifications as opposed to larger qualifications that mirror BTECs. Given that the Department is looking at the roll-out of future V-levels, will the Minister consider making them a large qualification that could be studied independently—rather than alongside A-levels, or requiring three for a university application—as a way to make the breadth of opportunity mirror BTECs while keeping the values of the V-levels that the Government are going to try to introduce?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. The whole point is that we want to offer young people a range of options and choices.

Apprenticeships will remain central to our offer because they allow people to earn while they learn, and help employers to develop the skills that they need. I know there are calls for the maximum funding band levels to be reassessed in certain occupational areas, and we are working closely with the sector and Skills England to determine how best to use all available funding sources, based on robust evidence of cost of delivery.

Transforming the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy is giving employers greater flexibility and supporting 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. New apprenticeship units will also help the system to respond more quickly to changing skills needs. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) for recognising that apprenticeship units in battery manufacturing, mechanical fitting and assembly, and mechanised welding were developed by Skills England in just three months, following consultation with employers and sector experts. I am sure the Skills Minister will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the dedicated support that Skills England has established.

We are also increasing support for employers. We fully fund apprenticeship training for employers of all sizes for eligible young apprentices under 25, while smaller employers will receive a £2,000 hiring payment when they recruit an apprentice who is under 25. That support matters, particularly to smaller manufacturers, which are vital to local supply chains but can find it harder to meet the initial cost of recruiting and supporting an apprentice.

Alongside clearer routes and strong apprenticeships, colleges need the specialist facilities, equipment and teaching expertise required by modern manufacturing. That is why we have established four advanced manufacturing technical excellence colleges, including the one my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Sureena Brackenridge) highlighted in her city. They are part of a wider network of 29 technical excellence colleges, representing an investment of £295 million, that is expected to benefit more than 100,000 learners by the end of this Parliament. The colleges will provide advanced facilities, expert teaching and training shaped by employer demand. Through a hub-and-spoke approach, they will share expertise with other providers, thereby strengthening technical education beyond their own campuses.

[Perran Moon]

The announcements over the past two months relating to post-14 skills have been largely targeted at mayoral strategic authorities. Some 48% of the country is not in a mayoral strategic authority, and Cornwall never will be. Does the Minister agree that funding and flexibility for post-14 skills need to be spread across every postcode, not just in mayoral strategic authorities?

[Lilian Greenwood]

My hon. Friend pre-empts what I was going to say, which is that a key part of our approach is about shifting power, funding and accountability away from Westminster. We will work with mayoral and strategic authorities to shape their local skills systems and support economic growth in their regions. I assure my hon. Friend that that will apply to Cornwall, just as it will apply to the opportunity to work with our mayors in the west midlands, west Yorkshire and south Yorkshire, as colleagues asked about.

We want to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region. Strategic authorities are well placed to bring together employers, schools and colleges, to strengthen the links between education and work, and to help to broker relevant work experience. As my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) highlighted, they can build on existing successful partnerships such as that between Nottingham Trent University and West Notts college. They can connect skills decisions with their understanding of local investment, workforce demand and the needs of employers. That really matters, because the opportunities available on the Isle of Wight are not the same as those in Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Mansfield, Lichfield, Cornwall, Doncaster, Portsmouth, Wolverhampton, Lancashire, Alloa and Grangemouth, Taunton and Wellington, Glasgow, Cambridgeshire or Meriden and Solihull. Local leaders can shape delivery around the strengths and needs of their economies—I hope the devolved Government in Scotland have listened carefully to hon. Members’ points.

My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West rightly highlighted the success of manufacturing on the Isle of Wight and the importance of investing in the workforce that will sustain it. The businesses that hon. Members have described demonstrate that world-class advanced manufacturing can thrive and create skilled jobs throughout the country. But that is only half the job; investing in the skills that power them is what turns ambition into long-term economic success. That is already visible on the Isle of Wight, showing what is possible. Our task now is to ensure that more people, particularly young people in all parts of the country, have the skills and opportunities to be part of that success. I have not had a chance to address a number of questions raised by colleagues, but I am sure that my noble friend the Minister for Skills will listen to their representations and perhaps write to them on any specifics.

10:58

[Richard Quigley]

I thank the Minister for her response and Members for their engagement—with the exception of the shadow Minister, who appears to be in cloud cuckoo land. We should all be excited about the shared enthusiasm for growing and nurturing our manufacturing skills sector. The call to action today is for us all to make apprenticeships as exciting and desirable as university and say that it is okay to learn a trade.

I look forward to tutoring colleagues from all parties so that they too can create a powerhouse of manufacturing skills in their constituencies, through world-class businesses and thriving skills support groups for education establishments helping to develop the next generation of engineers and manufacturers. I suspect they may find it harder than we make it look on the Isle of Wight.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered manufacturing skills.