The process industries produce hundreds of essentials for our daily lives from biofuels and plastics, through to rubber, synthetic fibres for clothing, pharmaceuticals and crucial chemical additives which transform, strengthen and make safe many products.

These science and chemistry-based industries produce the ingredients that form the building blocks for millions of manufactured products which are needed throughout the supply chain.

Every sector of industry depends on their innovation and output in order to produce goods and enable us to benefit from the technological advances on the horizon.

Their end products are the foundation upon which new markets are created: markets which serve ever increasing expectations.

The process industries, which include chemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymers manufacturing, have a combined turnover of £67.1 billion and a Gross Value Added (GVA) in excess of £23 billion, which is over 15% of the total UK manufacturing GVA.

They provide direct employment for 420,000 people and close to 600,000 when their integral supply chain is taken into consideration.

The industries include around 10,800 businesses, 88% of which are small or medium enterprises.

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

The chemical and pharmaceutical industries have 3,200 employers with a workforce of 200,000, and cover manufacture of:

• Chemicals including raw polymer
• Consumer products, such as cosmetics and detergents
• Pharmaceuticals.

These industries alone have a turnover of £46.3 billion and exports of £31.8 billion, making them the leading manufacturing industry exporter. The contribution to the UK’s balance of trade is +£860 million for chemicals and +£3,200 million for pharmaceuticals. Intellectual property income from royalties and licensing generates more than £500 million per annum.

Average GVA per employee is £72,944, up from £55,388 in 1998, compared to the current UK economy average of £35,000.

Regionally, half of the employment is concentrated across the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the Midlands, with a South East cluster that contains 25% of the UK’s pharmaceutical industry.

The chemical and pharmaceutical sectors in particular operate in a potentially hazardous and highly-regulated environment where processes require careful control and measurement.

Polymers

The polymers industry has 6,880 employers and a workforce of 210,000, and covers:

• Conversion of raw polymers into products and components
• Manufacture and design of machinery and equipment for polymer processing
• Manufacture and installation of signs
• Design, innovation, research and development linked to new materials and their applications
• Recycling.

The polymers industry has a turnover of £20.8 billion and a GVA of £7.84 billion which represents 4.9% of UK manufacturing.

The GVA per employee is £34,700 for plastic products and £43,500 for rubber. This demonstrates the scope for significant improvements in productivity and also reflects the different structure of this industry which has a large number of small and medium enterprises.

Polymers production is concentrated in the Midlands with important clusters in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, South East and East England.

Skills

According to the Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) undertaken by Cogent in 2006, process industry companies recruit 25,000 people a year. Over 15% of the current workforce is aged 55+ and only 25% is female. Alongside this, the number of science graduates choosing an industrial career has fallen while the number of young people entering the sector through apprenticeships remains low.

Many employers are investing heavily in new technologies in order to compete in a global market, and this requires new levels of skills in the existing workforce.

The SSA identifies a number of skills and training issues that were highlighted as important by employers:

• Competence assurance (safety, health, environment, quality)
• Technical training at Levels 2, 3 and 4
• First line supervisor/management training
• Accreditation of Prior Learning
• Apprenticeships
• Common standards leading to common skills cards.