REGIONAL REPORT
households from volatile fossil fuel markets and create up to 5,000 new jobs. It builds upon our work to support the steel industry in Port Talbot, and to allocate of all the £ 122-million funding to providing training for Tata Steel workers and businesses to regenerate the town,” said the UK government.
The funding will enable Associated British Ports( ABP) to complete the essential design and engineering work needed to build one of the first floating offshore wind ports in the UK at Port Talbot. ABP expect that, once completed, the new port will support thousands of jobs and unlock over £ 500 million in investment for Port Talbot.
UK Energy Secretary, Ed Milliband, commented:“ From floating offshore wind in Port Talbot to a new generation of small modular reactors at Wylfa, this government is putting Wales at the heart of our clean energy superpower mission.”
“ This funding is the latest decisive action by the UK government to secure Port Talbot’ s industrial future, including supporting Tata Steel with £ 500 million to deliver a state-of-the-art Electric Arc Furnace, ensuring that Port Talbot will remain a steel-producing town. It also comes a week after the launch of the government’ s Steel Strategy which, backed by up to £ 2.5 billion, will help it meet its target of supplying 50 % of domestic demand for steel and secure the industry’ s role in supporting vital UK sectors such as infrastructure, defence and clean energy,” said the UK government.
“ Alongside this, we allocated all £ 122 million of‘ The UK government Port Talbot Transition Board’ funding to support thousands of workers, businesses and communities affected by the transition at Tata Steel, helping to regenerate the town and support new economic opportunities,” it added.
Looking to the future
Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, signalled his desire to increase resilience in the UK’ s manufacturing sector at the March 2026 Make UK National Manufacturing Conference. He highlighted the importance of next-generation manufacturing as global supply chains rapidly evolve.
“ In the next-generation economy, value is increasingly captured at the design stage. Artificial intelligence, digital twins, advanced simulation and data-driven engineering are transforming how products are imagined long before they are ever built. The factory of the future begins not
Sarah Olney MP meets apprentices from Automate BEST to mark National Apprenticeship Week in the UK in February.
UK Business Secretary, Peter Kyle.
The MACH exhibition will return to the NEC Birmingham, UK, from 20-24 April 2026.
on the shop floor, but on a high-performance computer.
“ Britain’ s strength has always been in its ingenuity. From the steam engine to the jet engine, from the World Wide Web to graphene, this country has consistently demonstrated that ideas are a competitive advantage. Today, Rolls-Royce is pioneering digital twin technology in aerospace engine design. BAE Systems is integrating advanced modelling and AI into complex defence platforms. In our
universities, cutting-edge research is shaping the industries of tomorrow,” he continued.
“ Right across the world, advanced economies are reindustrialising ……. It’ s why we are championing next-generation production. We are encouraging the integration of new technologies and techniques through our‘ Made Smarter’ adoption programme. It’ s helping [ smaller ] firms to adopt robotics and autonomous systems, and make full use of AI, 3D printing and other emerging technologies. The gains are seen in better productivity and greater competitiveness,” he added.
He also highlighted the importance of skills so that“ the engineer of the future must be as comfortable with AI as with machinery, and as fluent in data as in design.” Kyle flagged the government approach which places an emphasis on technical education, apprenticeships and partnerships between industry and further education colleges and universities. It has pledged over £ 1 billion in tailored sector skills packages.
Other initiatives include the future Advanced Manufacturing Upskilling and Reskilling Programme and the rollout of short courses funded through the Growth and Skills Levy. Kyle recognised that“ the combination of advanced engineering and digital service provision is where the margins are won and profits are increasingly being made.”
“ To succeed, we must align trade policy, export finance and diplomatic engagement with our manufacturing strengths,” he concluded.
UK engineering is central to achieving net zero by 2050, leveraging strengths in renewable energy( offshore wind), low-carbon transportation and sustainable construction. The sectors expected to generate most new jobs in the net-zero ecomomy are transportation, energy, buildings and industry. n
The engineer of the future must be as comfortable with AI as with machinery, and as fluent in data as in design
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