The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling upon the government to revamp its industrial strategy through an increased focus on skills support.

In a new report An Industrial Policy for the United Kingdom submitted to ministers at the DTI the TUC say that manufacturing matters because of its importance to international trade and because large scale manufacturing closures cause social dislocation as well as having an adverse economic impact.

According to the TUC the government needs to heed lessons from the ‘smart support’ offered in Europe and parts of the US where skills support and investment in R&D and innovation are key.

In particular the paper calls for recognition of 'national champions' that will be eligible for government support, either in response to a one-off financial difficulty or to restructure in times of economic change.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Industrial policy in the UK is too often presented as two extreme alternatives. On the one hand large-scale nationalisation or picking winners and at the other extreme hands-off laissez faire. Other countries do not have these hang-ups and can combine market incentives with smart support for key strategic sectors, getting the best of both worlds. We should do the same.”