Shop Floor

This week Nick looks at the gig economy in 18th century Britain, with Judy Stephenson, a researcher in economic history at Wadham College Oxford. Lord Baker slams the government's education policy as inadequate to the needs of industry. What does the fourth industrial revolution mean for business? We find out with Rob Hiron of Kronos and finally Gerwyn Davis, Labour Market Analyst at the CIPD, talks to Nick about shared parental leave.

This week on the Shop Floor, Nick looks at British management and just how good it really is, alongside Patrick Woodman from the Chartered Management Institute. We look at the issue of runaway pay for executives and the practical and political issues this raise with Bobby Reddy, lecturer in company law at Cambridge university. With the internet constantly expanding and connecting more of us together, Nick discusses the idea that we are actually becoming more disconnected with Roger Gorman, Founder and CEO at ProFinda. And finally, Nick joins Mike Falconer from the Industrial Cadets, to discuss initiatives to get young people to study STEM subjects

This week on the Shop Floor, the world we live in is about to become super-connected to the Internet of Things, Nick explores some of the issues this raises with Nigel Upton. Do you fancy a career in wine? Nick visits the one place in the UK where you can actually get a wine qualification, Plumpton College on the Sussex Downs to meet Paul Harley. We discuss corporate governance with Laurie Fitzjohn Sykes, director of research at Tomorrow's Company and finally Nick finds out about the leadership lag the UK is facing with John Yates from the ILM

This week on the Shop Floor, the world we live in is about to become super-connected to the Internet of Things, Nick explores some of the issues this raises with Nigel Upton. Do you fancy a career in wine? Nick visits the one place in the UK where you can actually get a wine qualification, Plumpton College on the Sussex Downs to meet Paul Harley. We discuss corporate governance with Laurie Fitzjohn Sykes, director of research at Tomorrow's Company and finally Nick finds out about the leadership lag the UK is facing with John Yates from the ILM

This week on the Shop Floor, the world we live in is about to become super-connected to the Internet of Things, Nick explores some of the issues this raises with Nigel Upton. Do you fancy a career in wine? Nick visits the one place in the UK where you can actually get a wine qualification, Plumpton College on the Sussex Downs to meet Paul Harley. We discuss corporate governance with Laurie Fitzjohn Sykes, director of research at Tomorrow's Company and finally Nick finds out about the leadership lag the UK is facing with John Yates from the ILM

This week Nick looks into the autumn statement and how it has addressed the skills gap with Verity O’Keefe, from the EEF, employee engagement with Ian McVey from Qualtrics, the depleted skills base and the need for more engineers in the civil sector with Charley Whitelock and Darren James and finally the social sector with Adele Blakebrough from the Social Business Trust.

This week, whistleblowing, the continuing debate over how to define those who work in the gig economy, why some employers are doing themselves no favours by ignoring the wealth of talent among ex-service personnel and we ask if a new C Suite role should be created, the Chief Workplace Officer.

Last week the consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates staged Workplace Week, the highlight of which was a convention that was addressed by, among many other distinguished speakers, Tim Henman. Intriguing. Nick Peters spoke to Andrew Mawson, the founder of Advanced Workplace Associates, and asked what Workplace Week set out to achieve.

Next week there are two intriguing employment tribunals taking place - the first involves a very senior former Barclays executive who is suing the bank for wrongful dismissal. This is all a bit dicey because it is tied up with a major investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the circumstances surrounding Barclays' deal with the Qataris after the financial crash, a deal that enabled them to keep going without going cap in hand to the government. The SFO is actually asking for the tribunal to be held behind closed doors to avoid the risk of harming the investigation. The executive Richard Boath is also suing on the grounds that he was victimised for whistleblowing. Nick discussed the case with Richard Isham, Employment Partner at Wedlake Bell and asked him why the whistleblowing claim is so significant.

A new study by Deloitte, the armed forces charities Forces in Mind Trust, and the Officers Association has found a glaring mismatch between the number of companies who know about recruitment programmes that aim to get service personnel into good civvy street jobs and those that actually use them. The figures in this very comprehensive survey show 87% of companies know about them, only 24% use them. Nick Peters asked Ray Lock, Chief executive of the Forces in Mind Trust, what programmes there are and why they were so poorly used.

Last week's report from the Social Mobility Commission said little or no progress has been made in leveling the playing field for the less well-off parts of our society, that if you were going to make it big in this world, it matters more who your parents are than what you are capable of. The Chartered Management Institute takes a keen interest in their issue as they, like many others in business, want to ensure that the future leaders of our businesses are drawn from the widest possible social spectrum and talent pool. Patrick Woodman is head of External Affairs at the CMI. He found the report's conclusions sadly predictable.

John Paul Rollert, Adjunct Professor of Behavioural Science at Chicago Booth university, joins Nick to discuss his recent article, 'How Sociopathic Capitalism Came to Rule the World' and what the Trump presidency means to business. First broadcast:13/11/16

A report last week, commissioned by the former business secretary Sajid Javid, says women should make up at least 1/3 of the executive pipeline within the next 3 years, but are we actually seeing this happen? Marina Lumley, leading campaigner and co-founder of Greengrass Consulting, joins Nick to discuss this issue. First broadcast: 13/11/16

Bill Sullivan, marketing director of IBM’s digital agency, Interactive Experience, talks to Nick about Watson, IBM's artificial intelligence tool and their proposal to use technology to help police forces locate missing people. First broadcast: 13/11/16

With the demand from business for people with the right education and skills growing and the failure of our education system to produce them, businesses are now growing their own talent. The EEF, the membership organisation for manufacturers, is investing heavily in training facilities at its centre in Aston. Nick is joined by Neil Withey, the centre's training director. First broadcast: 13/11/16

Ben Blackledge, director of Education and Skills Competitions at WorldSkills UK, joins Nick to discuss the upcoming annual World Skills Show that aims to connect young people to the skills they need for the careers they want. First broadcast:13/11/16

This week Nick talks to Ben Blackledge of WorldskillsUK about the Skills Show, the UK's biggest skills and careers fair taking place in Birmingham; Neil Withey, training centre director at the EEF on how business is starting to equip young people with the skills needed in the workplace; Bill Sullivan about IBM's recent challenge at Do It Day and its tool to trace missing persons more effectively, and Marina Lumley of Greengrass Consulting about a recent report which revealed the gender gap among executives shows no sign of narrowing.

Nick reports from the Manufacturer of the Year Awards, part of the event in Birmingham. He speaks to Richard Hill from NatWest, who have backed the awards for many years, and this year’s overall winner - Dura Automotive of Castle Bromwich in the Midlands – who won four awards in total. And he gets a last word from Rory Bremner, who hosted the ceremony. First broadcast: 06/11/16

Alongside the Manufactures Live conference is the Smart Factory Expo, where Nick has been finding out how the modern factory has evolved and how the 4th industrial revolution is changing modern manufacturing. He meets Martin Walder, industry VP at Schneider Electric UK, Phil George, solutions architect at Rockwell, and Paul Hingley, data services manager at Siemens UK. First broadcast: 06/11/16

Nick is in Birmingham this week at the annual Manufacturer Live conference, talking to some of the country's leading industry figures about the state of British manufacturing. In this podcast he talks to Nick Hussey and Steven Barr of the Hennik Group, McLaren Automotive's Alan Foster, Dr Philip Cartwright of HVM Catapult and Rob Law, the inventor of the Trunki children's suitcase. First broadcast: 06/11/16