That鈥檚 the view from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce which has welcomed the strategy鈥檚 priority support for energy-intensive industries, research and development (R&D) and skills development.
The Government has backed UK industries it thinks have the potential to grow, with the aim of creating jobs and prosperity across Britain and Northern Ireland, in the new The Industrial Strategy, published on Monday.
Artificial intelligence (AI), offshore wind power, and electric vehicle batteries are among the sectors which feature in the strategy which aims to help realise Labour鈥檚 pledge to create sustained economic growth, which ministers want to see become the highest in the G7.
Sarah Moorhouse, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the potential benefits for key sectors operating in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell which include metal processing, advanced manufacturing, automotive and food and beverage production.
She said: “The Black Country is a manufacturing powerhouse with around 3,000 energy intensive businesses operating here 鈥 they need electricity bills to come down and they need them to come down quickly as they have sounded the alarm about uncompetitive energy bills for years.
“The targeted support through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is very much welcomed and a positive step forward 鈥 but the timescale for this is 2027. We need transitional measures to help our electricity-intensive businesses that will ease long-term cost pressures and it may be that the extension of the Network Charging Compensation scheme isn鈥檛 enough.鈥
The Chamber welcomed commitments to R&D and skills development, including the 拢1 billion Clean Energy Supply Chain Fund and the 拢450 million skills investment.
Sarah added: “These are big figures and we needed the Government to recognise that this is the level of investment which is needed to move the dial. When we ask our members about the challenges they face we hear recruitment is tough, skills is a real issue and the cost of doing business is forever increasing.
鈥淭he focus on R&D and skills is crucial for the long-term success of our businesses and we are looking forward to seeing the detail in the coming weeks.
鈥淭he strategy can help our region build on its advanced manufacturing base and more training and apprenticeships is a step in the right direction, but we must ensure that these opportunities are accessible to our regional workforce.”
Tony Hague, at Cheslyn Hay-based PP Control & Automation, said he would have liked to have seen “bolder plans” in the strategy which he said businesses have waited decades for.
He told the Express & Star: “At first glance, there doesn鈥檛 appear to be anything new, exciting or 鈥榠mmediate鈥 in there, with the majority of the much-publicised energy savings not actually coming into play for two years 鈥 and only after more consultation.
“I would have liked to have seen more bolder plans and the reintroduction of the Manufacturing Advisory Service or something similar, which delivered lots and lots of targeted support to SMEs that made an instant and long-term impact.
“But let鈥檚 look at the positives. I suppose it鈥檚 a start and the fact it is a 10-year plan gives a bit of added certainty to our sector, unless Labour鈥檚 tenure in Whitehall is short-lived and this strategy is ripped up in the spirit of political posturing!
“It is good to see advanced manufacturing as one of its core sector plans and, finally, it looks like we鈥檝e woken up to the importance of investing in automation and robotics. This new technology makes us quicker, makes us smarter and doesn鈥檛 replace jobs 鈥 if anything it has the opposite impact.
“I desperately want to believe the Government has finally understood what is required to help make UK manufacturing truly competitive again. We鈥檙e not after handouts, just a level playing field so we can take on the rest of the world by playing to our strengths. Time will tell.鈥