A leading Cumbrian businessman said the county was being ignored, despite Government promises to level up the North.
Mark Telford, managing director of engineering firm Forth, said his was a number of firms in the county which had the potential to further change the face of industry with pioneering work.
He said: “When people think of Cumbria, they instantly think of the county as one big holiday destination due to the popularity of the Lake District.
“But there is much more to the area than just hospitality and there is a lot of world class and amazing work carried out by engineering and manufacturing companies here.
“There is engineering excellence in abundance in this very county, and we have proved time and again we can produce work which has a positive impact on industry across the globe. With more investment from the Government, we could do this on a much larger scale.
“This in turn would lead to the creation of more jobs and a huge boost to the economy, so it would be a very easy win for the Government, in my opinion.”
Research conducted by Make UK, formerly known as the Engineering Employers’ Federation, this week revealed that almost a third of manufacturers in the UK didn’t believe the Government’s plan to level up was being carried out as they had yet to see any tangible benefit to their business.
One in four of the 225 firms surveyed said they wanted to see the Government prioritise support for skills training to create better job opportunities.
According to Make UK, the absence of levelling up was particularly felt by companies based in the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and East Anglia.
But it is hoped that an initiative in Cumbria, launched last month, will help change the future for Cumbria.
Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH), is a collaborative initiative between industry, SMEs, research and development, academia, charities, training and skills, and other organisations to create employment and regenerate communities in West Cumbria.
Led by Copeland Borough Council with the support of key stakeholders including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and private sector supply chain partners, iSH, based at Cleator Moor’s Leconfield Industrial Estate, will create more than 700 jobs.
Mr Telford said it was the perfect template for showing how Cumbrian businesses could combine skills and provide services unique to anywhere else in the world, and encourage the county’s pioneering companies to widen their customer base.
