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We’re putting automation at the heart of UK manufacturing.

About us

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Manifesto Meet the team Our history FAQs

Back to

About us Manifesto Meet the team Our history FAQs

About us/Manifesto

Our Context

Automate UK is the voice of the UK’s advanced manufacturing industry and a trusted source of expertise for government, Parliament and the wider policy ecosystem. We bring together the organisations developing, integrating and adopting automation and robotics, ensuring that the experience of our members helps shape policy, remove barriers to adoption and strengthen British industry.

Why automation matters now

The pressures reshaping British industry are converging.

Growth and productivity remain weak, operating costs are rising and geopolitical instability continues to disrupt energy markets, trade and supply chains. Manufacturers have remained resilient, but too much capital is being used to absorb immediate pressures rather than invest in machinery, skills or innovation.

At the same time, international competitors are accelerating their adoption of automation and advanced technologies.

The challenge for SMEs

For SMEs, the stakes are especially high. Smaller manufacturers are competing with larger, increasingly automated businesses that can produce more quickly, consistently and cost-effectively. Yet the companies with some of the greatest potential to grow often face the greatest barriers to doing so: limited access to finance, shortages of technical expertise, fragmented guidance and uncertainty about the return on investment.

The workforce challenge

Manufacturing supports 2.6 million skilled jobs but continues to grapple with around 50,000 vacancies, while more than one million young people are not in education, employment or training. Employers need engineers, technicians and digital specialists, but the pathways into those careers remain opaque at best and non-existent at worst. Apprenticeship starts among 16- to 24-year-olds have fallen by 35% since 2017, further constraining the pipeline of future talent.

How automation can help

Automation can shorten lead times, strengthen domestic production and reduce exposure to fragile international supply chains. It can also remove repetitive and hazardous tasks, improve working conditions and allow people to focus on more skilled, productive and rewarding work. Through higher productivity, businesses will have greater capacity to invest, raise wages, and protect jobs in the longer term. Where manufacturers automate, they are better equipped to compete and grow. Where they do not, the risk is that investment, production and employment move elsewhere.

The opportunity

The UK has the research base, engineering expertise and industrial capability to lead, but it has not yet converted those strengths into widespread adoption. There are just 112 industrial robots for every 10,000 manufacturing workers, around half the EU average, while only 2% of manufacturers have fully embedded AI and automation across their operations. That gap is not only a measure of how far the UK has to catch up. It is a measure of how much growth remains untapped. Closing the digitalisation gap in UK manufacturing could add an estimated £150 billion to GDP by 2035, while strengthening productivity, competitiveness and economic resilience.

Unlocking that potential means removing the practical barriers that prevent businesses from investing: improving access to finance and expertise, strengthening routes into technical careers and giving manufacturers greater confidence to adopt.

The UK does not require the ideas, technology or know-how. We have them in abundance. What we require are the conditions to put them to work.

Our Work

What Automate UK is doing

Industry must do more than develop world-class technologies to ensure automated manufacturing reaches its potential.

We must continue to work alongside government, Parliament, educators, employers and technology providers, ensuring that practical experience informs policy and that ambition is translated into action.

Working with Government – Taking the expertise of our members to the heart of policy development

A key part of the role we play is to help shape government policy in the areas which most affect our members. In short, that’s about creating the necessary economic, regulatory and policy conditions so that businesses and workforces can automate and grow.

This work regularly sees us in high-level meetings with government departments and senior civil servants and has seen Automate UK and our members:

Helping to shape the Government’s Industrial Strategy, ensuring that automation and advanced manufacturing are a core pillar of the plans for growth

Engaging regularly with the Department for Work and Pensions on skills, employment and workforce participation

Engaging regularly with the Department for Education on STEM education, technical pathways and apprenticeships

Engaging regularly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on adoption, robotics and the international market

Engaging with the Regulatory Innovation Office and the Health and Safety Executive on robotics, autonomy and the regulatory conditions needed to support adoption

Developing our role in helping to shape practical policy, guidance and standards for the use of AI in automation, grounded in the experience and needs of industry

Helping shape the future of UK robotics through representation on the Government's Robotics Advisory Group

Working with Innovate UK to identify barriers to automation adoption, including securing funding for the Robotics & Automation Strategy for Business Leaders training programme

Holding government-backed programmes and delivery bodies to account for whether they are delivering meaningful outcomes for industry, working constructively to improve performance while challenging underperformance where necessary

Building relationships with regional and combined authorities to support greater automation adoption and advanced manufacturing growth across the UK

Working with Parliament – Telling our stories to political leaders

Beyond government departments, MPs and peers are vital advocates for our work and the work of our members. Their support is paramount – both locally and nationally – as we continue to shift the dial on the level of awareness of and appreciation for the role that automation must play in growing the UK economy in every sector.

This work sees us operating in Parliament, but also out in the real world – showing local MPs the power of automation first-hand by visiting our members and their partners. This work has seen Automate UK and our members:

Engaging regularly with MPs who represent industrial and manufacturing hubs, or who have a policy interest in automation

Hosting local MPs at sites across the UK to bolster their understanding of the benefits our members and their technologies deliver

Briefing MPs and peers ahead of debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords

Engaging with relevant All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including those on Manufacturing, Responsible Business, Skills, Careers and Employment, Technology, Apprenticeships and Industrial Strategy

Hosting our members in Parliament through roundtables, briefings and events that bring industry expertise directly into political debate

Attending and hosting events at political party conferences

Working with the Wider Policy Ecosystem – Developing tangible policy interventions that make a difference

Speaking to politicians and civil servants is only useful when you have something tangible to say. The fresh interest in automation and advanced manufacturing among policymakers and politicians is welcome, but is sometimes paired with a lack of knowledge, experience or reference. Guiding these stakeholders towards credible, impactful and workable policy is key to the work we do.

With that in mind, Automate UK also dedicates time to developing policy, highlighting existing areas of policy or regulation which aren’t working, and partnering with other organisations to make a united call for more favourable conditions in which to automate. This work has seen Automate UK and our members:

Building partnerships with think tanks and policy institutes to amplify our call to action

Working with trade unions to highlight the diverse support for adoption as a means of supporting, sustaining and re-skilling the workforce

Working directly with government departments to shape policy through consultation

Hosting policy roundtables as a means to better socialise policy positions

Providing advice and guidance to our members and to government on technical standards and regulation

Helping shape UK and international technical standards through Automate UK’s representation on committees covering robotics, machinery safety, food-processing and packaging machinery, and information security and cyber security

Producing industry research and insights to ensure our policy positions are grounded in the experience of businesses adopting and delivering automation

Working with universities, including Cranfield University, to develop research and evidence that supports automation policy and adoption

Working with Industry – Building a shared vision for responsible automation

The debate around automation and the future of work is too often framed as one of people versus technology. We know that the reality is very different. Greater adoption has the potential to address skills shortages, improve working conditions and create new opportunities for more skilled and rewarding roles.

Making the case cannot be done by Automate UK and its members in isolation. Employers, technology providers, end users and those representing the workforce all have a role to play in shaping what responsible adoption looks like. Uniting these voices together can not only accelerate adoption but also help ensure that technologies are developed around the practical needs of the businesses and people who will ultimately use them.

That is why Automate UK is bringing different industry voices together to help shape a more responsible approach to automation and the future of work. This work has seen Automate UK and our members:

Developing partnerships with other representative associations, RTOs, trade unions and institutions including The Manufacturing Technology Centre, Food & Drink Federation, Manufacturing Technologies Association, Make UK, and GAMBICA. By doing this we believe we have ensured that, having spoken with representatives of each of these groups, the views in this document are supported by wider industry

Bringing technology providers and end users together to ensure automation solutions are shaped by real-world operational needs and are practical and straightforward to adopt

Building relationships with trade unions and workforce representatives to strengthen dialogue around responsible adoption

Engaging with the Finance Ecosystem and professional services sector to strengthen understanding of automation and help secure the financial products and services required to support adoption

Convening industry and workforce representatives through dedicated roundtables on the future of automation

Bringing employers, workforce representatives and policymakers together to ensure different perspectives inform the debate

Developing a shared framework that supports productivity, skills development and better working conditions

Supporting Members – Helping our members grow and succeed

Everything we do starts with our members. Representing their interests with government and Parliament is an important part of our role, but membership of Automate UK offers much more than a collective voice.

We provide practical support, opportunities and expertise to help businesses grow, develop their workforce and reach new customers. From training and technical advice to exhibitions, networking and international trade, our aim is to give members access to the tools and connections they need to succeed. This work has seen Automate UK and our members:

Providing technical and regulatory support, including access to standards and specialist guidance

Supporting recruitment and career development through job promotion, apprenticeships, grants and bursaries

Building workforce skills through the Apprenticeship Clusters and wider training programmes

Creating opportunities to showcase products, expertise and innovation through exhibitions, publications and awards

Supporting international growth through overseas exhibitions, UK Pavilions and export guidance

Providing industry insight through reports, thought leadership, focus groups and emerging trends

Connecting members with customers, partners and peers through networking, events and industry forums

Helping businesses develop new commercial relationships through Trade Exchange and partner services

Our Policy Priorities

Our policy priorities going forward

Government has made progress on several of the issues Automate UK has raised. The Industrial Strategy has given advanced manufacturing greater prominence, the skills system is being reformed, and robotics and automation are receiving more focused policy and regulatory attention.

The task now is to turn that progress into delivery. Government must remove the practical barriers to adoption and ensure that the UK’s growing ambition for advanced manufacturing translates into investment, productivity, skilled jobs and growth.

Priority 1: Turn the Industrial Strategy into automation adoption

Move from recognising advanced manufacturing (both in terms of what the UK makes and how it is made) as a strategic priority to ensuring that businesses, particularly SMEs, can adopt robotics, machine vision and other automation technologies. Government-backed programmes should be judged on whether they drive real-world adoption and deliver tangible benefits for industry.

Priority 2: Build confidence in responsible automation

Work with industry and workforce representatives to promote a better understanding of how automation can support workers, address skills shortages, improve working conditions and create more skilled and rewarding jobs.

Priority 3: Build the technical workforce of the future

Strengthen employer-led routes into engineering, automation and manufacturing, including apprenticeships and technical education, and support the nationwide expansion of Automate UK’s Apprenticeship Clusters.

Priority 4: Make automation easier to finance

Improve access to finance for businesses investing in automation, particularly SMEs for whom the upfront cost and perceived risk of new equipment can prevent otherwise productive investment and continue working with financial institutions to improve their understanding of automation.

Priority 5: Create an investment environment that rewards automation

Ensure the tax and investment framework gives businesses the confidence and incentives to invest in automation, robotics, machinery and the digital technologies that underpin modern manufacturing.

Priority 6: Strengthen pathways into STEM and technical careers

Give more young people meaningful exposure to engineering, manufacturing and automation and create clearer pathways from education into the skilled careers industry needs.

Priority 7: Help British automation businesses compete globally

Strengthen practical support for exporters and help UK automation businesses showcase their technologies, enter new markets and convert Britain's engineering expertise into international growth.

Priority 8: Build on our strengths

Growing adoption of proven technologies and applying them in new and creative ways across the existing automation ecosystem, is just as important as developing the next generation of solutions. The skills and knowledge gained through wider use of established technologies will underpin and accelerate the development of new ones.

Priority 9: Drive automation adoption through demand

Ensuring a resilient domestic supply chain is essential for the future security and stability of the UK. The government can play its part by creating an environment that allows UK based businesses to successfully compete for government contracts, that if awarded in a clear and timely fashion can give business throughout the supply chain the funds and confidence for investing in capital equipment.

What our policy work means for members

Our vision is to create an environment where automation is not simply recognised as an opportunity, but used as a practical lever for growth – helping more of our member businesses invest, more people move into skilled work and British industry become stronger, more resilient and more competitive.

Through our policy work, members can:

Contribute to government consultations and policy discussions
Bring issues and solutions directly to those who create the policy
Participate in parliamentary roundtables and events
Host local MPs and demonstrate the work of the business first-hand

Read the full manifesto document now

Last update: September 2026

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