A REPORT has claimed that manufacturers could be on course for a recruitment "crunch" as the number of workers retiring or leaving the industry continues to outstrip those coming in.
According to the report by manufacturers' organisation the EEF, the UK manufacturing sector will need almost a million workers by 2020 to replace those leaving.
But the report claims the quality and quantity of graduates entering the sector is failing to meet the industry's needs.
The EEF says that, in the next three years alone, 66% of manufacturers plan to recruit an engineering graduate.
Derby is home to a number of major manufacturers, including Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Toyota – all of which recruit engineering graduates.
Richard Halstead, Midlands regional director at EEF, said: "Businesses are engaging with universities, sponsoring students and hiring graduates, but we need action now if we are to meet expected demand.
"Decisive steps must be taken if we do not want to see the manufacturing sector increasingly looking outside the UK for talent."
The Derby Manufacturing University Technical College, which is set to open next year, aims to address the shortfall by providing a conveyer belt of talent to the city's manufacturers.
The UTC is a partnership between Derby College, the University of Derby, Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Derby City Council. It will open in a purpose-built centre at Pride Park for up to 600 young people aged 14 to 19.
George Cowcher, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce for Derbyshire, said: "The chamber's most recent economic survey shows that even though companies operating within the manufacturing and engineering sector are confident that their turnover and profits will increase in the next 12 months – with 41% of companies within these sectors likely to take on additional staff – almost half are experiencing issues recruiting suitable staff.
"This is a major barrier to growth and there needs to be a clear line of sight to the wide range of career opportunities available in order to enthuse young people about the sector, to ensure this issue does not continue."
Meanwhile, the chamber has welcomed Gross Domestic Product figures released yesterday which show that the UK's economic output grew in the first three months of this year by 0.8%. It is the fifth consecutive quarter in which the UK economy recorded growth and means it has expanded by 3.1% over the past 12 months.
Chris Hobson, the chamber's head of information and representation, said: "Manufacturing is still well below its pre-recession levels and the broad-based recovery is still relatively nascent, requiring further encouragement and support so all our businesses – manufacturers and engineers in particular – can grow and flourish."
