________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Turning
According to
Benedikt Ilg, UK manufacturing faces a knowledge cliff no one’ s talking about point
In any manufacturing business, people are the engine that keeps everything moving. Regardless of automation, machinery or muscle, operations are held together by the quiet confidence of those who’ ve seen it all, solved it all, and know how to keep things running smoothly. In fact, research shows 87 percent of UK manufacturing managers believe most of their technical know-how sits with older workers.
Yet rarely, is this knowledge written down anywhere. The problem? Those people are about to retire.
In other words, once older employees walk out the door without passing on their knowledge, that expertise disappears. And as the sector continues to battle challenging global competition, economic instability, and increasing demands for productivity, it will soon face a generational handover it may not be prepared for.
A system under strain
Manufacturing has long relied on practical, hands-on training. Skills were passed down on the line, standing side-by-side, through mentorship and shared time. But somewhere along the path to digitalization, that knowledge transfer has started to break down.
26