The government’s decision to reintroduce targeted maintenance grants for students from low-income households is a welcome step toward strengthening the UK’s industrial and engineering landscape.
New technologies like robotics, AI, and IoT enhancing operations are resulting in improved safety, quality, and productivity. Yet, according to Make UK, there are currently 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in the UK manufacturing sector. To secure Britian’s place as a leading industrial nation, organisations must attract tech-savvy and sustainability-minded people, Gen Z and Gen Alpha included, into its workforce via both graduate schemes and apprenticeship programmes.
The Prime Minister’s new ambition, that two-thirds of young people should go either to university or take on a gold standard apprenticeship aims to change the way we think about education, affording apprenticeships the level of aspiration we believe they have always deserved. At Schneider Electric, we recognise that addressing the skills gap requires more than financial support. That is why we have long invested in skills development for every stage of career professional development, from early engagement through to advanced training. Our UK apprenticeship programmes offer practical, hands-on experience and accredited qualifications that equip individuals with the technical skills required for technical career pathways.
We also work closely with partners such as the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to fund and provide STEM programmes for primary school pupils. These initiatives are designed to raise awareness of career options, improve diversity, and prepare the workforce of tomorrow to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Looking ahead to the UK Government’s forthcoming Skills White Paper, we hope to see increased collaboration between government, industry, and education providers to align training with the evolving needs of the economy. In particular, we would welcome measures that support modular and lifelong learning, clearer pathways into technical careers, and greater emphasis on the skills critical to achieving net zero and driving innovation.
About Kristin Baker
Kristin leads the Industrial and Process Automation business across the UK and Ireland. She’s responsible for driving the growth transformation strategy across the business building on our strong product position in the market and accelerating our segment, software and service initiatives.
During her 12 years at Schneider Electric Kristin has held a number of roles across the business. She started in Corporate Strategy working on key enterprise strategies for the group like IoT, Analytics, Software Business Models and Cybersecurity. In 2015 she joined the UK Digital Energy team and has held several operational roles in segment marketing, operational strategy and digital services. She most recently led Digital Buildings for Europe Operations.
Prior to her time at Schneider Electric, she worked in IT Consulting for Cerner Corporation (now Oracle) designing and implementing healthcare information systems in the US, UK and UAE.
Kristin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from The University of Iowa and a MBA with a focus on strategy and energy from HEC Paris. She is a STEM volunteer and is passionate about digital transformation and the use of technology to solve problems.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider’s purpose is to create Impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider, we call this Life Is On.
Our mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.
We are a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by our deep domain expertise, we provide integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for our customers.
We are a people company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable future for all.
Media contact
Merryn Rodwell
Cadence Industrial and Technical Communications