While the skills gap and over-regulation present continuing problems for manufacturing companies, management from firms including Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe, Group Rhodes, Thorite, LBBC and Airedale International all said that market conditions are improving and they are focused on taking advantage of growing opportunities.

Leeds Manufacturers: Surviving and Thriving in a Competitive Environment was organised by Leeds Manufacturing in partnership with sponsors Santander Corporate Banking, Clarion Solicitors and Deloitte, who hosted the breakfast at its offices at No 1 City Square in Leeds city centre.

Speakers at the event included Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan, Andy Tuscher from EEF, managing director of LBBC Howard Pickard and Airedale International’s managing director Clive Parkman.

Riordan told manufacturers that they have a bigger role than ever to play in the success of the region, particularly with the launch of the local enterprise partnership.

He said: “We are at the start of a new era in which business and economic growth will be self-starting and business-led. The message from the LEP is to lose the politics and concentrate on jobs and investment.

“Let’s do some myth-busting: manufacturing makes a major contribution to the economy of Leeds and the wider city region and is critically important for the economy going forward.”

>>> Read the full report on Leeds manufacturers: surviving and thriving on The BusinessDesk.com

Finding the right people will also be crucial to long term sustainability of manufacturing. This was reflected in discussion round our table, with many manufacturers now ‘importing’ skills form other parts of the UK but recognising that, ultimately, the ageing workforce profile of the sector makes it essential to open up manufacturing to a new generation.

It’s a problem across the sector as shown by the launch today of the ‘Work Wise’ initiative, which aims to encourage and support young people to take up careers in manufacturing and engineering. The initiative has been backed by 50 South Yorkshire employers who are accutely aware of the need to renew the skills base within industry instead of companies feeding off one another’s skills base.

Given that there nearly twice as many people employed in manufacturing in West Yorkshire than there are in South Yorkshire, the need for an initiative in this kind is even more pressing. Something for the Leeds city region Employment & Skills Board and organisations like the EEF to consider?