A new report from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) shows how the UK could take advantage of new technologies to increase the supply of high-quality jobs in manufacturing and high-tech industries.
The report, All Tomorrow’s Jobs: how robotics and new technology can create better work, finds that just nine per cent of the UK workforce is employed in manufacturing, compared to an average of 14 per cent in OECD countries. To help reach the OECD average, the TUC is calling for the government to set a target of the net creation of 1 million more jobs in manufacturing and high-tech industries by 2030.
The TUC’s five priority policies to deliver new manufacturing and high-tech jobs, based on the evidence set out in the report, are:
- Make more of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) work for manufacturing employment
- Build local eco-systems to deliver employment-rich economic growth
- Offer new skills to those at risk of industrial disruption
- Trade unions to be fully represented on the new Industrial Strategy Council and on sector deals
- A Brexit deal that protects jobs and workers’ rights – the best option the TUC currently sees is membership of the single market and customs union, but is open to alternatives
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Too many parts of Britain have been held back by a lack of decent jobs. They deserve better. That means businesses, government and trade unions working together, locally and nationally, to bring high-tech industries to more places across the UK.
“We need a local industrial strategy for every town that has been held back. We need to train workers in the skills needed for tomorrow’s high-tech industries. And we need a Brexit deal that protects jobs – we are open to alternatives, but the best option currently looks like being in the single market and customs union.”
* Read All Tomorrow’s Jobs: how robotics and new technology can create better work here
* Trades Union Congress https://www.tuc.org.uk/
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