Terry Watts, Chief Executive of Proskills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the process and manufacturing sector in the UK.

"Manufacturing as a sector is still suffering from the negative effects of the recession, and 2009 was the worst year in decades; all industries where hit hard.

Yet, manufacturing is a diverse sector, and is not as homogeneous as it is frequently portrayed in the press and by government; the problems and successes faced by different sub-sectors vary significantly.

Generally across the Process and Manufacturing sector there has been around a 25% drop in sales and they are not expecting a rapid return to recent levels. The Extractives and Minerals Processing Industry for example states It is likely to be 2021 before they get back to 2007 levels of business.

However, manufacturing companies are always changing and evolving new ways of operating with new markets and opportunities emerging as a result.

High end products such as specialist Furniture, Coatings and Ceramics are doing quite well, as well as the industries which support the Food industry such Glass for containers and Paper for Packaging.

These companies rarely make the headlines but we should be learning from their example, and helping to modernise processes and operations through investing in improving the skills and development of the workforce.

While 2009 saw the lowest house building rates since 1924, we saw the lowest levels of demand in the wood sector since 1959 and generally the industries which form part of the supply chain to construction have been the worst hit, we are also seeing what seems to be a trend of sacrificing profits in the short term to maintain skilled staff and be ready for the upturn. Maybe this is because of the large number of small, often family or privately owned businesses in the Process and Manufacturing sector, but it symptomatic of an underlying optimism. Having taken the hit in 2009 and feeling that things are “at least not getting worse” companies are looking for a gradual improvement in 2010 and companies are keeping hold of their skilled employees in preparation for the upturn.

Proskills role as the SSC is to help employers maximise their effectiveness and productivity through a great skills base in the existing workforce so that as they emerge they are stronger, more efficient and better prepared to compete for business when it comes.

"I firmly believe that investing in improving employee skills will not only help individual companies prepare for the upturn through helping people improve their abilities, but will also help the UK economy back into growth.” Stephen Falder, Director HMG Paints.

To optimise improvements in productivity, funding and support for qualifications, and training must be flexible enough to respond directly to the needs of employers and the people they employ. Support for all of the manufacturing industries across the UK will be vital to improving the economy in 2010 and precipitate the renaissance in manufacturing that the Government has talked about."