This is a guest post from Matt Jones, Owner of Recruit 12, as part of our Recruiting Weekly Series. Matt shares his thoughts on the impact of Coronavirus on the UK Manufacturing industry.

The UK Manufacturing industry has been thrown a fair few curve balls of late, primarily as a result of the drawn-out Brexit debacle. Still, we believe that the versatility and adaptability of the sector are vastly underestimated and often shows the true grit and determination that gives it it’s British Bulldog persona.

Never though, has this been truer than over the past few weeks. Many manufacturers have gone from focusing on a very vertical market to switching around production to make the essential products and equipment that Britain needs. Companies from both the aerospace and automotive sector including Airbus, Meggitt, GKN Aerospace, Nissan and McLaren have all pitched in to mass-produce the vital ventilator equipment the NHS is in desperate need of, and Dyson has released pictures of its CoVent Prototype ventilator. 

Now just for a moment, consider the enormity of this and the skill of the workforce involved to be able to turn tail and go from zero to a finished product in a matter of weeks. It is mind-boggling! But it demonstrates how perfectly manufacturing can adapt. 

Impact on the Manufacturing Workforce

However, there are far greater implications of this horizontal approach to the industry, and that is the workforce. We have learned that over half a million workers have been laid off in the first few weeks of the Coronavirus outbreak in the UK. Dedicated and loyal employees suddenly wondering how they are going to support their families. This versatility in manufacturing means that there are companies that are now classed as essential businesses. These essential businesses are crying out for both skilled and unskilled labour to help them in their endeavours. However, they do not have the resources to seek out and recruit these essential workers. It is a vicious circle that needs to be broken, and it is down to the recruitment industry to step in and do our part.

Recruit 12 has spent over a decade focused on a vertical market of aerospace and automotive, but now we are rising to the challenge of taking a more horizontal view to recruiting. We’re putting these much-needed key workers into the manufacturing industries that so badly require them. It is no small challenge to turn your business model around on a sixpence, but if these manufacturing giants can do it, so can we.

The next steps

Coronavirus is dreadful. There are no other words for it. Right now, we are all facing a unique and unprecedented set of challenges. How we adapt and refocus will be our saving grace, not just for our businesses and employees, but for the future of our country. The recruitment industry needs to pull together and use the resources and skills we have spent years honing and put them to a different use for the greater good.

Author, Matt Jones – Managing Director, Recruit 12

Recruit 12 has over a decade of experience recruiting to the Automotive and Aerospace sectors. With a focus on integrity and being steered by a strong moral compass in company boss, Matt Jones, we live by the mantra ‘if you stay true to yourself, the success looks after itself’. In recent times, Recruit 12 has shown itself to be adaptable and capable of diversifying and now offers a variety of roles throughout engineering, the commercial sector and contracting. What makes us unique? The concept is in the name; we allow our clients to split their recruiting fees over 12 months so that they are only ever paying for a performing and active recruitment service.