High Inflation.

Yep, my daughter in law is an engineer. She has a degree, and is mentor for new graduates who join her department. In her area of expertise only the best graduates are accepted.

DH is an engineer. He has a couple of university degrees. He's no spring chicken ?. The days of an HNC being all you need to get into engineering are long gone.

My daughter works for a British global company, a family owned business since 1930s. Another global British manufacturer in the Midlands is JCB.

Besides hospitality, another industry that struggles to fill its vacancy is engineering.
I work in the public sector, ours is an aging workforce. The department just advertised 60 new jobs but it will struggle to fill these posts because the private sector pays much more. Not many women work in engineering.

All those people who went to universities and could not get a graduate job and end up working in the service sector like pubs, restaurants and supermarkets, what a waste of talent!

After A levels, instead of going to universities, they should have done a one year course to get a HNC the qualification you need to get into engineering without incurring massive student debts.

growstuff

Casdon

We do still make trains in the UK, there’s a big locomotive works in Derby, I think they are leading on hydrogen engine development. Rolls Royce aero engines is still there too.

The Derby locomotive works are owned by French multinational, Alstom. Rolls Royce is owned by BMW. What that means is that both companies are vulnerable to any difficulties the parent companies might be experiencing, just as steel works were.

I know. However, the picture you’re painting is bleaker than the reality growstuff. The ownership of UK companies by foreign companies where manufacturing and innovation remains in the UK signals that we do still have the expertise to compete on the world stage. You do always seem to be imbued with pessimism about the UK. I agree that there’s a lot wrong, but to imply we don’t have the capability to compete is just not true.

Sorry, should have written "there's virtually no heavy industry".

volver

The reason that the UK are no longer making as much as we did is that manufacturing of mass market things is now a process that can be automated or can be done by relatively unskilled people, so the wages that people earn are not attractive enough, Unfortunately there are are countries in the world where lower wages are acceptable. Not as many as there used to be, of course.

What we need to have is high skilled manufacturing - biomedical things, satellites, etc; manufacturing where the output is maybe smaller in number but larger in price and complexity.

In "my" city there are many software/games companies; they make shedloads of money and employ shedloads of people. Sometimes, literally sheds

watersedgedundee.co.uk/

Same in Cambridge. There's virtually no manufacturing, but the bio-tech and software companies make a fortune.

Casdon

We do still make trains in the UK, there’s a big locomotive works in Derby, I think they are leading on hydrogen engine development. Rolls Royce aero engines is still there too.

The Derby locomotive works are owned by French multinational, Alstom. Rolls Royce is owned by BMW. What that means is that both companies are vulnerable to any difficulties the parent companies might be experiencing, just as steel works were.

We do still make trains in the UK, there’s a big locomotive works in Derby, I think they are leading on hydrogen engine development. Rolls Royce aero engines is still there too.

And when we do, we're just too slow

Sorry, I missed a bit. Lack of investment in our manufacturing industries meant that other countries such as Germany were able to create productive manufacturing sites for things like trains, etc, while we can't any more.

The reason that the UK are no longer making as much as we did is that manufacturing of mass market things is now a process that can be automated or can be done by relatively unskilled people, so the wages that people earn are not attractive enough, Unfortunately there are are countries in the world where lower wages are acceptable. Not as many as there used to be, of course.

What we need to have is high skilled manufacturing - biomedical things, satellites, etc; manufacturing where the output is maybe smaller in number but larger in price and complexity.

In "my" city there are many software/games companies; they make shedloads of money and employ shedloads of people. Sometimes, literally sheds

watersedgedundee.co.uk/

There was a time when we made ships, rail carriages and buses. Some buses are made in the UK and some elsewhere - currently some are being made in Egypt. Stadler, a Swiss company are making 30 combined electric/diesel engines for the UK. Previously carriages have been supplied by German manufacturers.

There is very little ship building either. Even the super yachts are built in Germany, Italy or the Netherlands.

Why isn't the UK making them? (I am aware that the UK does make some but not a lot). All these products require a skilled workforce and I assume that the workers are well paid in the European countries that we buy from.

We are good at innovation - there are several small companies involved in the computer games market but when they grow they are sold off, usually to foreign competitors at which point the profits leave the country.

I don't think that there is something to be proud about regarding the number of employees working in bars and doing nails.

I thought demand for wood had gone through the roof, no pun intended. Our son is having an extension and a loft room built but the availability and increased price of wood have caused a delay for a variety of reasons ... lockdown demand, wood usually supplied from Russia and Ukraine etc.
I think it is timely for businesses and government to create sustainable supply chains in our own country for the future.

if the couple you are talking about is the ones who own a small jam makers, they seem nice and just trying to keep the business going and the ladies attitude was more of a just need to get on with it. i am so lucky i have my son and his family, they do not drink, smoke and only go out as a family or with me on his days off, i live on benefits and have done for 5 years, i live as cheaply as possible, he got me new nighties after a hospital emergency, new microwave when mine broke and helps out with paying for some shopping when i am out with them, they also pay my phone each month on there account. i am so grateful for the help and would never begrudge them buying take ways 3 times a week or spending money on something i see as a waste. he deserves it as he had very little when he was young as his dad was ill for 7 years and we lost him when my son was 16.

growstuff

Casdon

growstuff

Dinahmo

We should not be a service based economy. We have relied too much in the past on the wealth generated by bankers, insurers, etc etc. We should be moving towards an economy that has a larger proportion of manufacturing industries that at present.

We are also very good at the performing arts which get little support from governments but which were a very good source of revenue.

The "services" include restaurants, hairdressers, manicurists, etc. What do you suggest the UK could manufacture at a lower cost than anybody else?

There are definitely some things we could do in the UK that would cut down on imports. Long term, wood is definitely one as we are planting more trees anyway, and we import millions of tons every year. We could also grow more of our own produce, and make better use of our natural resources.

So what should we grow with our home-grown wood and who would buy whatever we produce? Sorry, but I can't see wooden artefacts replacing the money generated by service industries.

You asked for some examples. Did you mean you wanted an exhaustive list? Wood is used extensively in the building industry, I was thinking of that rather than ‘artefacts’ - although there is a market for UK made furniture.

Reforesting will also help to prevent flooding.

Yes, I've been.

But we still have room as much of our land was forested - the trees were cut down, the timber used but the trees never replaced.

Callistemon21

Try again:

www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/forestry-statistics-2018/trade-2/origin-of-wood-imports

It could help with our balance of payments.

So what should we grow with our home-grown wood and who would buy whatever we produce? Sorry, but I can't see wooden artefacts replacing the money generated by service industries.
Wood isn't just used for carved fruit bowls and Welsh love spoons.

Hmm ... I'm sure it will make wonderful electric cars!

Have you ever seen how much space there is in Canada or Finland for growing trees?

Dinahmo The countries of the UK have been trading nations for hundreds of years - for a reason. We are a small island and we quite simply do not have the raw materials we need to thrive. It's not just a question of not buying clothes from Primark.

The UK needs to look at what it does well - and that's not making physical "stuff". We could invest in green technology, but we still need to import the raw materials. What we're good at is innovation and using our brains. We're at the forefront of certain technologies and research and we need to exploit that. Our GDP depends on service industries and we can't just change that overnight. Trade with our single largest European trading partner (Germany) is down and nobody has a clue how that can be replaced.

One thing is for sure - a recession now is not going to help anybody, except the very wealthy. One person tightening his/her belt will mean that somebody else's trousers will fall down, as they can't afford to fill their bellies.

Try again:

www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/forestry-statistics-2018/trade-2/origin-of-wood-imports

It could help with our balance of payments.

So what should we grow with our home-grown wood and who would buy whatever we produce? Sorry, but I can't see wooden artefacts replacing the money generated by service industries.
Wood isn't just used for carved fruit bowls and Welsh love spoons.

Growstuff We have to get used to the idea of not buying clothes from Primark for example. We live in a throwaway society where some garments are only worn once and then discarded. Is that necessary?

More recycling perhaps? Make do and mend? There was an article in the Guardian at the weekend on a Japanese method of repairing clothes, using clever patches and neat stitching. There are several small clothing companies that recycle clothing.

I've had periods in my life when I could afford to sit in the Grand Tier at Covent Garden and others when we've taken sandwiches which we ate on the train and we stood at the back of the stalls.

You could say that my suggestions are rather middle class but it may get to the point when even those in well paid work will have to cut down. Many will be in shock if interest rates go up again with the knock on effect on their mortgages.

Casdon

growstuff

Dinahmo

We should not be a service based economy. We have relied too much in the past on the wealth generated by bankers, insurers, etc etc. We should be moving towards an economy that has a larger proportion of manufacturing industries that at present.

We are also very good at the performing arts which get little support from governments but which were a very good source of revenue.

The "services" include restaurants, hairdressers, manicurists, etc. What do you suggest the UK could manufacture at a lower cost than anybody else?

There are definitely some things we could do in the UK that would cut down on imports. Long term, wood is definitely one as we are planting more trees anyway, and we import millions of tons every year. We could also grow more of our own produce, and make better use of our natural resources.

Yes, we definitely need to plant more trees and produce more of our own wood.

In the long-term it would help to cut down on imported types of wood and wood products and will also be good environmentally.

We produce a very small percentage of our own wood in the UK which is very shortsighted.

Sawn softwood, particleboard, fibreboard, and paper and paperboard were overwhelmingly imported from EU countries in 2017 (Table 3.8):

[[https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/forestry-statistics-2018/trade-2/origin-of-wood-imports

I could have written your post katie1949,exactly the same this end.

Mortgage repayments started from a lower share of household income in the 80s and 90s.

Whitewavemark2

economy!

No idea. It is a very low rate compared to the high rates that we experienced back in the late 80s and 90s. quite honestly I can't remember how we coped then with our mortgage repayments increasing quickly.