British Coatings Federation Counsels Against Skills Funding Cuts
LONDON - The British Coatings Federation (BCF) has launched a “Business Confidence Index” based on data gathered from members over the last three years. A third consecutive quarter with dropping confidence levels reflects the fact that UK manufacturing is struggling with reduced output and dwindling foreign demand for UK goods.
With this in mind, recent news that the government has chosen to cut skills funding for the Science Industry Partnership (SIP) comes as an unwelcome surprise, according to the BCF. Investment in the SIP was hailed by the government as a major skills investment in the science industries, which includes coatings and inks. Many of BCF’s members, including many SMEs, have been actively looking at how to benefit from the program, which will now stop in March 2016.