To mark National Manufacturing Day 2026 on 24 September, experts from across the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) challenge some of the sector's most common assumptions and explain why strong manufacturing capabilities remain vital to the UK’s future.

 

Manufacturing is central to the UK’s economy, innovation and future prosperity. According to Make UK, organisers of National Manufacturing Day, UK manufacturing contributes £220bn to the economy, supports 2.6 million jobs, and pays wages 8% above the whole-economy average.

 

Yet outdated perceptions persist. From the idea that the sector is in decline to misconceptions about its careers, technologies and wider economic value, these myths can obscure the reality of modern manufacturing.

 

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Tim Minshall, Head of the IfM   Myth: Manufacturing is not important for the UK economy, and it doesn’t matter if we don’t do it anymore.

 

Reality: Manufacturing makes innovation real. It is the process that converts our wonderful science and technology into real products that make lives better; products that cure us, keep us safe; connect us, move us, and allow us to live our lives without damaging the planet.  To manufacture the most advanced products, you need to have the people designing the products working closely with the people making those products. For that, you need to have strong manufacturing skills and capabilities in the UK.

 

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Carlos Lopez Gomez, Head of Policy, IfM Engage   Myth: Manufacturing is a declining part of the UK economy, associated more with Britain’s industrial past than its future.

 

Reality: Manufacturing’s share of UK value added and employment has fallen, but these measures obscure its wider importance. Modern manufacturing is highly productive and supports much broader ecosystems of R&D, engineering, technology, skills and specialist suppliers – many of which are not classified as manufacturing in national statistics. It remains a major source of innovation and accounts for around 35% of UK exports, while its wider value chain represents around 15% of the UK economy. National averages also hide important regional differences: manufacturing represents only around 2% of London’s economy, but around 15% in the East Midlands, North East and Wales, where it provides skilled, well-paid employment.

 

Manufacturing capabilities also determine whether Britain can turn its world-class science and inventions into products that are developed, scaled and produced here – and capture more of the resulting economic value. Once production knowledge, specialist skills and supply chains disappear, they can be extremely difficult to rebuild. For a country with world-class science and vibrant start-ups, we should want more of the innovations we create to be developed and scaled at home. 

 

A first priority for reindustrialisation should therefore be straightforward: stop the further erosion of the industrial capabilities Britain still has. We should build on areas where the UK already excels, from aerospace and pharmaceuticals to specialist engineering niches. And we should develop the capabilities needed to compete in the industries of the future.

 

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Letizia Mortara, Associate Professor at the IfM   Myth: There is one “silver bullet” — a practice, technology, or management philosophy that, if adopted more extensively, will inevitably improve performance.

 

Reality: What strikes me in our research, and in the innovation literature more broadly, is how often we find inverted-U relationships. R&D, openness, cognitive distance, exploration — many things are beneficial up to a point, but beyond that point the benefits diminish and can even become negative.

 

So, the reality is that manufacturing is much more about finding the right balance than maximising any one practice. The interesting question is not “Is this good or bad?” but “Under what conditions does it work, and where are its boundaries?”

 

That means moving away from universal prescriptions and towards understanding what works, when, and in what context.

 

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Bill O’Neill, Director of the Centre for Industrial Photonics   Myth: Manufacturing is about making things cheaply and repetitively on a factory floor.

 

Reality: Modern manufacturing is a knowledge-intensive and high-technology-based activity. It relies heavily on materials science, automation, robotics, digital engineering, metrology, data analytics and increasingly AI-driven processes. True competitive advantage comes from advanced process capability, ultra-precision engineering, effective quality systems, flexibility, high productivity and the ability to innovate at scale and speed.

 

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Sebastian Pattinson, Head of the Computer-Aided Manufacturing group   Myth: Machines are replacing people in manufacturing.

 

Reality: Great manufacturing happens when skilled people and advanced machines work together, turning ideas into reality. Technology can enhance what manufacturers do, but human expertise, creativity and problem-solving remain essential.

 

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Kate Willsher, COO, IfM Engage and Chair of WiM UK   Myth: Manufacturing careers are only for engineers.

 

Reality: Manufacturing needs people with a huge range of skills and expertise. Alongside technical roles, the sector relies on professionals working in operations, supply chains, finance, HR, marketing, sustainability, data, communications and many other disciplines and functions. 

 

It's a misconception many people hold, and one we are working to dispel through the Women in Manufacturing UK initiative. Before joining the IfM, I assumed manufacturing was almost entirely about engineering. In reality, the sector depends on diverse teams bringing different skills and perspectives together to solve problems, create value and drive innovation.