Recruitment specialists urge manufacturers to act now to safeguard their futures.

News from the TUC this week paints a stark picture of the country’s manufacturing sector with reports of massive job losses.

Miles Everingham from south coast human resources and recruitment specialist Guildsrealm said that TUC research revealing a loss of 750,000 manufacturing jobs since 1997 was alarming and would continue unless companies address long term resourcing issues.

Too many companies look at the short term and that often means shutting down and moving production abroad,’’ he said.

High profile casualties have included former Portsmouth manufacturers Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

Those with foresight act smarter, employing the right people, keeping them motivated and adopting lean manufacturing techniques to keep them ahead of the competition.’’

He said the only way to compete in the global market place is by being proactive rather than reactive, setting the standards and employing the right candidates.

With unemployment levels so low many companies are paying the price for being unable to employ the right managers to take them forward and are now falling back on cutting costs by scaling down or even closing plants,’’ said Mr Everingham.

The recipe for long term success is finding the right people for the jobs and investing in the long term future of manufacturing.’’

ìThose firms who are keen to invest in attracting and retaining top talent, are noticeably better off in terms of productivity and ultimately have a more secure future. Penny pinching on recruitment can cost jobs,î Miles concluded.