The CEO of an award-winning Shropshire business believes education changes that will see manufacturing and AI offered as subjects in schools could have a big impact on the industry.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced plans this week for vocational subjects such as manufacturing and AI to be offered to students from year ten in secondary schools from 2028.
It comes as some areas of the manufacturing industry have long been reporting skills shortages, with around 75 per cent of UK firms citing labour and skills shortages as their top operational issues.
The aerospace and aviation engineering sector has faced issues in the UK, with the Prime Minister’s plan developed to try and give opportunities to young people while also addressing skills gaps.
Aviramp founder and CEO Graham Corfield, who went from a 16-year-old welder working with his dad in Wolverhampton, to a global exporter of aircraft boarding ramps, has seen rapid growth of his company in recent years.
The firm’s success has seen Graham named as an inspiring leader in The Manufacturer’s top 100 in 2025, with the company named in the Sunday Times’ top 100 fastest growing companies. He believes the plans can only be a positive for the sector.
He said: “Anything to help any sort of shortage with skills and aid the manufacturing industry can only be seen as a positive step.
“We have seen success and growth here at Aviramp and have excellent staff who work for us, as we meet the need of clients all over the world.
“However, there are areas of the industry that do have skills and shortage gaps, and this could be something that will help that.
“Time will tell but it is a positive step and will help to offer working in manufacturing as a career from a young age, as well as bringing through a pipeline of skilled workers well into the future for a number of businesses in the sector.”
Aviramp boarding ramps and bridges are used when an aircraft is parked on a remote stand and offer a safe, dignified alternative to stairs and separate ambulifts for wheelchair users and those passengers with reduced mobility.