PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a report illustrating how important emerging markets such as China are becoming in the eyes of the world’s industrial manufacturers.
The findings are from PwC’s Growth Reimagined: Industrial Manufacturing Survey (IM), a sector cut of the 14th PwC Global CEO Survey launched earlier this year. Out of 1,200 business leaders and manufacturers from 69 countries, the respondents included 76 industrial manufacturing leaders across 30 countries.
One of the concerns of the manufacturers that responded to the survey was the threat of a brain drain. The growing shortage of skilled technicians is widely recognised among British manufacturers, but the problem is also a global one.
Graeme Billings, Global Industrial Products Leader at PwC, said: “The war for talent is particularly acute in rapidly emerging markets. Many businesses are therefore stepping up the overseas deployment of key employees. The number of international assignments among multinationals has increased 25% over the past decade, and PwC predicts that will grow by another 50% over the next 10 years.”
The IM report also points to other trends, such as a growing focus on customers and innovation opportunities as part of their growth plans. Other findings from the survey show 43% of industrial manufacturers are increasing their commitment to innovation and safeguarding intellectual property compared to just 33% of CEOs in the overall sample.
56% of the 76 manufacturing leaders said that government assistance is unlikely to play a part in boosting their innovation output.
