These statistics are broadly in line with the findings across the all-sector sample – but there are some revealing areas where responses diverge. The most prominent of these is that for industrial business leaders, the people agenda has a higher profile. When asked about investment priorities over the next year, technology including AI was the most prominent focus (59%) which was the same as for the result across all sectors. But 42% of industrial leaders named workforce and skills as a second priority, ahead of the all-sector figure of 35%. When asked what they would like to see prioritised at this year’s Autumn Budget, industrial executives named measures to support skills, workforce and productivity as a high focus (37%), virtually on a par with a growth focused investment and industrial strategy. This was quite different to the whole sample response, where measures to support technology adoption and digital capability dominated (41%), while skills, workforce and productivity was only the fourth most cited area (32%).
This tells us that industrial private enterprise leaders are highly cognisant that you can’t separate the implementation of technology and AI from people and upskilling. There are huge shifts going on in the industry at a global level, with advanced manufacturing techniques accelerating, rare earth strategies and supply chains assuming ever higher importance, and new frontiers for materials and manufacturing models opening up including space. All this comes at a time of heightened national security agendas, making energigher y security in particular a matter of national importance.
These shifts mean that not only do industrial, aerospace and defence businesses need to push on rapidly with technology transformation, but they also need to equip their people with the skills and confidence to embrace new ways of working that will unlock greater productivity and growth. This includes addressing the issue of ageing workforces and keeping the lifeblood of new generational talent flowing into the industry.
