A busy first half of 2026

The latest update from BARA chair, Oliver Selby

Businesses need to invest in skills

FOR DECADES, a recurring issue in the UK engineering sector has been that of the skills crisis. According to the IMechE, the UK needs 124,000 new engineers and technicians each year to meet demand, but current projections show an annual shortfall of 37,000-59,000. Stats released by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) towards the end of last year showed 76% of engineering employers struggling to recruit for key roles, with just 61% saying the current workforce is fit for the future.

Keep calm and carry on

AGAINST THE backdrop of a geopolitical situation that can at best be described as “uncertain”, in many ways the UK industrial sector is doing what it always does - indeed has to do - and that is to carry on. Yes, of course, it would be naive to think that there are not some huge challenges. Indeed, my comment from just two months ago about the call for Government to deliver a robust national strategy to cut business energy costs now seems very nostalgic in the face of today’s record oil prices caused by war in the Middle East.

The turning tide

Oliver Selby, BARA Chairperson looks at why 2026 marks a reset for UK automation

Time for energy cost action

EVERY ISSUE, much of the editorial content you will find within Control, Drives & Automation centres around energy saving. Variable speed drives, process efficiency, energy management systems and the like are all regularly featured and their benefits highlighted. In fact, I like to think that even if businesses choose not to use the technologies that are available to them, that they are at least aware of some of the many options out there.

A confident outlook for 2026

BARA Chair Oliver Selby projects a positive forecast for UK automation and robotics in 2026

Digital skills gap impacting midmarket

IF I had to pick one subject that has dominated the industrial B2B sector news over 2025, it would be, unsurprisingly for most I’m sure, AI. Whether you think it's going to take your job or make your job easier, the rise of artificial intelligence cannot be ignored.

Industry commits to green investment

AT THE risk of sounding like a pithy secondary school teacher, I wouldn’t say I was surprised, just disappointed, by the Conservative Party’s newly revealed plans to abandon the 2050 net zero target should it be elected; despite, it should be noted, Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho admitting that this would lead to a rise in domestic carbon emissions. It remains to be seen how long it will be before the party fully apes Reform and pledges to retrospectively reverse renewable energy subsidies as well.

Building momentum for UK automation

BARA chair, Oliver Selby looks back over his first year in the role

Don't just read; take action

Another day, another report on how automation adoption could realise huge benefits for the UK. This time it’s from Make UK and Sage in the form of “Making it Smarter: Global lessons for Accelerating Automation and Digital Adoption in UK Manufacturing”, which has found that British industry is lagging behind global robotics and AI leaders, but closing the gap could deliver £150 billion more to UK GDP by 2035.