Do we have any working pride left in the UK or anywhere ?.

[Smoke&Slide]

We make almost nothing in England and it really annoys me.We had 1000's of companies back in the day & it wasn't all slave labour.We need a MASSIVE change.To try to support one's economy something has to be done.

 

[W3H5]

Mmm...politics.

Erm... I kind of solved my own end on this front and jumped ship to Asia where manufacture & economic growth are very interesting in these times.

My mum told me "don't just whinge about the crap situation, do something to help yourself!".

So I did and have never looked back.

 

[DG_Silva]

I think the issue is we have very few big companies left, Jaguar Land Rover is still based in the UK, as is BMW, just there are lots and lots of small companies producing very specialised pieces of equipment. My cousin owns a metalwork factory making parts for British Aerospace and Lucas car parts. His is the only factory that makes these particular parts because the tolerances needed are so small (0.05%), that no-one else can provide them to that level.

 

[Smoke&Slide]

Ignore post.

 

[W3H5]

Of all the gear I'm using on my motorcycle tour there is one piece of equipment I use which is British designed and made. It's the most vital part for me. My helmet.

Sure, it cost £400 and is ten times more expensive than the rest of my gear which is Chinese but there is a very good reason for that. I trust that it will do its job better than any Chinese made lid. Also I got it for free as I market for the company who made it.

I understand your concerns about the British industries and it makes me sad to think of what we, as a nation have lost, but I can assure you from my own knowledge, most of Europe is going the same way; losing out to Asia.

 

[Grayfox]

Australia has already bent over backwards to cheaper things from over seas.

 

[Ross]

Well the UK has moved out of having mainly Secondary sector jobs and moved to the tertiary and quaternary sectors (Service and R&D) because they're higher paid and require more skill to do. Most of those manufacturin jobs have gone to East and South Asia because the big MNC's can get it made cheaper (sweatshops mean lower salaries for the workers). It isn't morally right but that's what people will do to save money. Most of Europe including the UK now deals with the marketing of the product that is made..

 

[Jimlaad43]

Sadly, the problem is that if we were to stop using overseas workshops and created manufacturing jobs, no-one would want them. Also, everything would become more expensive, as the few workers who weren't too snobbish about it to take the jobs would get higher pay and the place be more expensively regulated, so everyone would complain about it anyway.

 

[Danny]

The company I work for is a manufacturer, growing at a frankly alarming rate.

And it's not just us. There's a buttload of other UK fabrication and manufacturing businesses raking it in on a global scale. It's not particularly glamourous, but we're taking orders for water treatment equipment, custom machined components, heavy machinery and CHP generators from all corners of the world. From a factory in Yorkshire. With 250 people.

 

[W3H5]

I hear IT developers and game developers are doing well in the UK.

 

[Lizard]

We have got some industry. I think I read somewhere that we are the worlds 3rd biggest weapons exporter.

All our industry has moved to high tech industry where almost everyone working there has an engineering degree or something similar rather than it being gone I think.