The West Midlands is the lowest performer in the UK, apart from Northern Ireland, in terms of the value added by each employee to the production process. This poor productivity, added to little innovation and investment, is undermining the country’s competitiveness, warns a government-backed report published in response to last month’s white paper.
The West Midlands accounts for 8.4% of GDP and more than 40% of the UK car industry and can be proud of some world class operators in the car, food and textile sectors. But it is pulled down by a string of smaller suppliers which have failed to invest to compete against international rivals.
The report recommends the launch of a regional strategy to identify innovative companies and give ailing businesses more help with training, investment and research and development.
- The Financial Times 9/7/96 page 1
