Resilient resort that’s become a hotbed of manufacturing

Many outsiders believed it was too remote, and perhaps too genteel, to make much of an impression on the world of commerce. However, in the long run, the town’s remoteness and beauty have worked in its favour. Scarborough’s innate self-reliance has made it a hotbed of manufacturing.

Now local manufacturers hope to play a leading role in creating a college which will teach youngsters about the joys of manufacturing.

If you’re miles from the nearest city, the only option is to manufacture things yourself. Just ask Alan Atkinson, the general manager of Plaxton, which has been making coaches in Scarborough for more than a century.

“Scarborough had to create its own opportunities,’’ said Mr Atkinson. “It is now an outward looking town with its sights firmly set on doing business anywhere in the world.”

Today Plaxton, which is part of the AlexanderDennis Group, employs around 600 people in Scarborough, and its giant production site is winning orders for buses and coaches as far afield as Poland. The scale of manufacturing around Scarborough and its neighbouring districts is breathtaking.

According to Peter Wilkinson, an executive director of Unison, the Scarborough-based tube bending machine manufacturer, between 12,000 and 15,000 people work in manufacturing in the Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington and Ryedale areas.

“A lot of local boys made good, and they have been very successful, not just in their niche markets, but in putting Scarborough on the map as a place to work and play,’’ he said.

“We’ve got 12 international manufacturing companies.”

It’s estimated that around 30,000 people could come to live in Scarborough by 2020.

“We have a business park that’s ready for investment,’’ Mr Wilkinson observed.

This bold optimism is underpinned by an honest realism. If Scarborough is to flourish, it must encourage more young people to work at firms close to where they grew up. That’s why a proposed £10m college to create a pool of manufacturing talent is being supported by so many local entrepreneurs.

The new-style University Technical College (UTC) would cater primarily for 14-18 year-olds who could be interested in manufacturing careers. Seventeen career-based UTCs have already been set up across the country.

They’ve been supported by the government’s Education Funding Agency, and also involve local authorities and business groups. The sites being considered as a possible base for the business-led college include the Hull University Scarborough campus at Filey Road, and the former Skipton Building Society offices near the 80-acre business park.

The UTC concept has been created by the Scarborough Business Ambassadors’ Forum, which has organised an Engineering Week festival in the town for the past five years. Last year, it attracted 2,700 pupils.

Mr Atkinson, in common with many local manufacturing firms, is a great supporter of apprenticeships – and the planned UTC.

He said: “With a UTC in Scarborough, it will generate a much-needed increase in the development of engineers with a good number, I hope, taking up employment opportunities within the Scarborough manufacturing business sector. Currently, youngsters tend to move away from the area to further their education, and often never think of returning.”

Alan Pickering, Unison’s managing director, is concerned about a generational divide which is emerging on the factory floor.

He said: “We struggle to get skilled people in our business. The current education system is failing us. We don’t see careers advisers coming around. People don’t canvass us for the skills we need. There’s a gap in the workforce between the ages of 20 and 22 and 40 in our business, and we’re not unique. We’ve got seven apprentices and we’re looking to take on a few more.”

Simon Morrell, the general manager of Scarborough-based Firmac, which specialises in duct forming and sheet metal technology, is keen to stress the global role of Scarborough’s manufacturers.

“We’ve been a family business for 28 years, and we’re now 95 to 98 per cent export,’’ he said. “It’s absolutely critical to our business. The UK market is still there, but it’s a very small part of what we do.

“The UTC is absolutely essential for Scarborough. The current educational facilities are doing a good job, but we need that centre of excellence to get all the skills we need into one area.

“It’s down to the void that was created by Government decisions, and the economic climate in the mid to late 1980s, when the apprenticeship system just died.

“I went through the apprenticeship system in the early 1980s to find that there was nobody following me.” Mr Wilkinson believes the proposed UTC, with its structured day that mirrors the world of work, would help to create youngsters who are “oven-ready” for careers at local manufacturing firms.

He added: “We’re looking at the UTC as the answer to fulfilling a sustainable future for our town. In our company, Unison, we probably have six vacancies at the moment. We cannot fill them locally.

“We think our education system has failed us; but not just in the Scarborough area. Business has to play a role now in educating young children that 21st century engineering is a sexy career choice. We have an 82-acre business park that’s ready for business. Why don’t we dream a little here? Think about Airbus putting a remote research and development centre, here in Scarborough.”

To watch interviews with Scarborough’s manufacturers visit.www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/video