As we come out of recession, and wave goodbye to an economy underpinned by the financial sector, economists and politicians are weighing up how growth will be powered in the future. And all the smart money is on manufacturing.

Although it is only a few short years since UK factories were closing and manufactured goods were being sourced from the Far East, it is beginning to feel like a lifetime ago. The high cost of transporting goods from the other side of the world, together with the low pound which makes our exports competitive are fuelling a manufacturing boom the like of which we have not seen for decades.1,200 Industrial jobs were gained last week and 700 the week before. We are used to seeing job losses, not job gains, in the Industrial sector.

But if manufacturing is going through a renaissance, it will not look in the future like it did in the past. It is unlikely that there will be a rash of giant new factories opening, with large, unionised workforces. We have moved on from that. We are far less class conscious than in the past and we all want jobs that we care about and that we believe in. The future of manufacturing will almost certainly lie in small workshops and tight, committed workforces all pulling together. It is an encouraging thought. I saw the future yesterday.

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This is obviously a boost for those who felt that there was always more to goods production than just cost, that there is a value also to customer service and quality. And although the UK may have become more competitive and efficient, quality is where we can really add value, hence the drift back to manufacturing in this country. We have already seen a similar trend in the call centre industry, where many companies have brought their operations back to these shores because of quality issues.

This does however put a much greater onus on staff to ensure that the goods they produce, and the service they give, are outstanding. Everyone is responsible for the quality of the product, staff can no longer consider themselves to be just cogs in a corporate machine.

Which should improve job satisfaction. Responsibility for what we do allows us to have a greater sense of pride in our work, and to see ourselves as valued members of a team. Not forgetting of course the role of  management in reinforcing the self esteem of their staff and showing that they are valued employees.

The emphasis now has to be on making manufacturing jobs part of the service economy; they may be producing tangible goods, but they are only doing so because of the service and quality that is implicit within them.

The return of manufacturing to the UK has the potential not only to create new jobs but also to invest staff with a greater sense of job satisfaction than before. Let’s hope it works.

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From a UK employment perspective, the more new jobs that are created the better. But it is not just that. Recessions bring opportunities and the possibility of manufacturing, albeit on a small scale, growing in the UK should stimulate anyone with an entrepreneurial approach.

Too frequently we meet people at Career Energy who want to start their own business but have no idea what to do. Suddenly a whole new area of possibilities have opened up.

Of course, starting your own business requires a lot more than just a good idea. You need to have the right risk profile, to be adept at managing staff, handling finance, understanding marketing and making sales, to name just a few qualities. All this needs to be assessed before you move into any form of self employment.

But the opportunity is there, and it is just one example of what a post-recession employment scenario might look like. The real lesson for anyone looking for a new career right now (or even thinking of a move) is that things are changing and the recession may well have given you a wider range of options than previously. Get in touch, and let’s help you find out.

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