Thursday, March 29, 2007
Complacency puts jobs in car industry at risk, warn MPs
Britain's motor industry risks haemorrhaging jobs overseas unless the government and companies commit to improving skills and to research and development,a parliamentary inquiry warns today. The Commons trade and industry committee report recommends that government "review whether the UK is really still at the forefront of innovative design and technology in the automotive sector, or whether research facilities are being used for work to support technological developments elsewhere in the world". Global overcapacity in car manufacturing is pushing producers to shut plants or shift capacity to lower-cost centres in eastern Europe or Asia. The UK industry is seen as especially vulnerable because of its location and the fact that all its traditional brands are now foreign-owned.
Read the full story at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/261552c4-dd93-11db-8d42-000b5df10621.html
Much debate has taken place in the UK in recent years regarding the so-called ‘skills gap’ of the country relative to its trading partners (e.g. Germany, France etc), namely the fact that British workers do not posses the set of necessary skills required to keep up with modern technological advances in industry, in particular, and the economy, in general. For this reason, economists have claimed that more emphasis should be given to the provision of vocational training by companies.
The much acclaimed new interactive learning package LiveEcon can help you undertand the economics behind these important policy events. For instance, Chapter 16 at intermediate level illustrates the effect of changes in H on the 'labour supply’ and ‘aggregate supply curves’ of the economy. In addition, Chapter 17 integrates H into the Solow growth model. Find out how to get LiveEcon at http://www.liveecon.com/. Dowload this blog as a Blogcast via the website.
Britain's motor industry risks haemorrhaging jobs overseas unless the government and companies commit to improving skills and to research and development,a parliamentary inquiry warns today. The Commons trade and industry committee report recommends that government "review whether the UK is really still at the forefront of innovative design and technology in the automotive sector, or whether research facilities are being used for work to support technological developments elsewhere in the world". Global overcapacity in car manufacturing is pushing producers to shut plants or shift capacity to lower-cost centres in eastern Europe or Asia. The UK industry is seen as especially vulnerable because of its location and the fact that all its traditional brands are now foreign-owned.
The report, sparked by MG Rover's collapse in 2005, was broadened to examine the competitiveness of the UK motor industry as a whole after France's Peugeot Citroën announced the closure of its Ryton plant near Coventry last year and General Motors' Vauxhall Motors said it would cut a shift at its Ellesmere Port factory.
It expresses concern over Peugeot's claims about UK labour costs and the "more predictable" wage disadvantage relative to eastern Europe. "We recommend that government study this potentially significant claim to see whether there is such an incentive to cut manufacturing jobs in the UK," the report says.
It expresses concern over Peugeot's claims about UK labour costs and the "more predictable" wage disadvantage relative to eastern Europe. "We recommend that government study this potentially significant claim to see whether there is such an incentive to cut manufacturing jobs in the UK," the report says.
Read the full story at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/261552c4-dd93-11db-8d42-000b5df10621.html
The stock of human capital (H), the amount of knowledge and skills embodied in a country’s active population, is the most important determinant of the quality of the economy’s labour supply. An increase in H is expected to reduce production costs, other things equal, thus allowing firms to retain a competitive advantage in the face of the intense globalisation of economic activity. The stock of H is also considered by the so-called new endogenous growth theory to constitute one of the main determinants of sustained economic growth.
Much debate has taken place in the UK in recent years regarding the so-called ‘skills gap’ of the country relative to its trading partners (e.g. Germany, France etc), namely the fact that British workers do not posses the set of necessary skills required to keep up with modern technological advances in industry, in particular, and the economy, in general. For this reason, economists have claimed that more emphasis should be given to the provision of vocational training by companies.
The much acclaimed new interactive learning package LiveEcon can help you undertand the economics behind these important policy events. For instance, Chapter 16 at intermediate level illustrates the effect of changes in H on the 'labour supply’ and ‘aggregate supply curves’ of the economy. In addition, Chapter 17 integrates H into the Solow growth model. Find out how to get LiveEcon at http://www.liveecon.com/. Dowload this blog as a Blogcast via the website.
# posted by Kostas @ 14:35 
