World class skills for Boeing in Rotherham

There will be just 30 jobs on offer in the new factory that Boeing want to build near Rotherham, but they are indicative of regeneration of an area which was historically dependent on coal and steel. Sheffield University and Boeing have been in partnership since 2001 to develop high-end engineering research and have developed an Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, with parts of the facility in Sheffield and others in Rotherham. This takes advantage of a pool of highly skilled labour - as the President of Boeing Europe has said, "The area has very high skills, particular in advanced manufacturing technology, which we think is world class."

The new factory represents an investment by Boeing of £20mn, and it is significant as their first manufacturing facility in Europe. Although it brings only around 30 jobs initially, there will inevitably be others added in the supply chain, and it also raises the profile of the area as a centre of expertise. Rolls Royce also has a jet engine factory on the same site, and McLaren have recently announced that they are creating 200 jobs there with a £50mn factory to build car chassis. While manufacturing may be only a very small part of the UK economy, here is evidence of the shift to manufacturing high performance components for the automotive and aerospace sector and developing competitive advantage in that sector,