Foundation Industries Inclusion, Diversity and Equality (FIIDE) – call for case studies

As part of its Transforming Foundation Industries (TFI) challenge, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has commissioned research looking at innovation barriers in foundation industries.

The foundation industries (cement, ceramics, chemicals, glass, metals and paper) are, as the name suggests, at the foundation of manufacturing in the UK. They produce the basic materials that are then turned into the goods and services we use and export. Members of IOM3 work across the foundation industries and their supply chains, so the Institute has a strong interest in the future of these industries.

This research, conducted by the European Research Council (ERC), found that 40% of businesses saw skills and recruitment as a barrier to growth, with even higher rates in the metals and paper sectors (46% and 48%, respectively). A recent TFI survey saw 87% of respondents cite a difficulty in recruiting technical skills, 44% in professional skills, 39% in innovation skills, 22% in digital skills, and 27% in management and leadership skills.

To attract and retain the widest possible workforce, businesses in the foundation industry sectors therefore need to engage with people with all backgrounds and characteristics and provide compelling reasons to work for them. However, as another piece of ERC research (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in UK Foundation Industries 2021) suggests (see box opposite), there is relatively little understanding across the foundation industries as to what works at a company level to improve diversity. IOM3 and UKRI have therefore decided to set up a project to collect, curate, and celebrate examples and case studies of good practice in promoting inclusion, diversity and equality in the foundation industries and their supply chains. Bringing together individual IOM3 members from across the foundation industries and chaired by Jude Allan MIMMM, this case study group (FIIDE-CSG) met for the first time in November 2021 and will work through 2022.

As a case study group, we are looking for positive examples of how businesses are actively promoting inclusion, diversity, and equality both in recruitment and the retention of their workforce.

We’d love to hear from you if you have examples to share from your workplace or businesses that you work closely with. If you have examples that you think should be shared and celebrated, then please get in touch at [email protected]

ERC report Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in UK Foundation Industries 2021

This research looked at gender and age diversity in the foundation industries. Some of the key findings are:

• In 5% of foundation industry businesses, there are no female employees.

• 59% of foundation industry businesses report no female owners or partners.

• Women in foundation industries tend to be engaged in non-production roles.

• The proportion of the foundation industries workforce over 50 years was higher than the economy average at 37%, with smaller companies having the highest proportion of workers over 50 years.

• Around a third of businesses in ceramics, glass and paper reported that more than half of employees fall into this older age bracket.

Jude Allan MIMMM, Packaging Society Chair, FIIDE-CSG, and IOM3 CEO Colin Church CEnv FIMMM