An independent industry white paper by Mark Beard FIMF and Christina Beard BSc (Hons), prepared in support of the Institute of Materials Finishing, the Surface Engineering Association and Surface World Magazine.
Third edition, published July 2026. Free to read and download.
The UK metal finishing and surface engineering sector faces a growing workforce challenge. An ageing workforce, increasing competition for skilled labour and limited awareness of the industry among young people all threaten the long-term resilience of a sector that underpins much of the UK's advanced manufacturing.
This paper examines why that is happening, what it will cost if nothing changes, and what industry, education and government could do about it together.
Part One — Understanding the Challenge. Why metal finishing matters to aerospace, automotive, defence, medical technology, electronics and renewable energy. The national workforce picture, the specific pressures facing finishing businesses, and what employers told us directly.
Part Two — Understanding the Opportunity. The cost of leaving the problem unaddressed, and the awareness gap that keeps the industry invisible to school leavers and careers advisers. A detailed look at how knowledge is developed, retained and passed on.
Part Three — Building the Future. Practical proposals, including an Industry Legacy Programme, a Retired Experts Register, a Metal Finishing Careers Week and a National Workforce Taskforce.
We spoke with businesses across the UK and the United States, in aerospace, automotive, defence and specialist surface engineering supply chains, ranging from operations of around fifteen people to more than a hundred and fifty. They included companies across the UK.
The businesses differed considerably in size and market. The same concerns came up conversation after conversation.
Workforce ageing — critical loss of operational leadership within a five to ten year window
Recruitment deficits — a shrinking pool of experienced process control specialists in many regions
Limited sector awareness — finishing careers remain almost invisible to school leavers and careers advisers
Public misperception — outdated stereotypes deter high-calibre STEM candidates
Concentration of knowledge — proprietary process techniques resting with single individuals approaching retirement
Latent expert supply — valuable retired expertise going unused and unrecorded
Employer willingness — a strong appetite to contribute, but no coordination mechanism
1,012,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training between January and March 2026, up 89,000 year on year (ONS, 2026)
55,000 long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing an estimated £6 billion a year (Make UK, 2025)
42% of manufacturing vacancies are now classified as skills-shortage vacancies, up from 29% in 2017 (Skills England, 2025)
42% fall in manufacturing apprenticeship starts since the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017 (Make UK, 2025)
6.4 million engineering and technology jobs across the UK economy (EngineeringUK, 2025)
£13 billion annual contribution from aerospace, and £93 billion turnover from automotive, both dependent on surface engineering (ADS Group, 2025; SMMT, 2025)
Ask an experienced plater how they know a bath is ready, and you will often get a pause before the answer. They know. Putting it into words is harder than it sounds.
That gap sits at the centre of this paper. Much of what makes a finishing business work is not written down. It is process judgement, troubleshooting instinct, customer knowledge and operational experience built over decades, and it lives in the heads of people who are approaching retirement.
When an experienced employee retires without a proper handover, the business does not just lose a person. It loses years of expertise that cannot be re-hired at short notice.
The paper examines what knowledge actually is, how expertise develops through curiosity, experience and reflection, what stops people sharing what they know, and what organisations can do to make sharing easier.
The paper sets out ten recommendations for industry, education providers, professional bodies and government.
The case studies in the paper show that the solutions already exist in practice. South West Metal Finishing, Armac Martin and Responsive Engineering all demonstrate what works. The challenge is scale, awareness and coordination.
We set out to write something honest rather than something polished — a paper that reflects what business owners, technical specialists and platers have actually told us, rather than what might sound impressive on a shelf.
We do not have all the answers. But we believe the questions in this paper are worth asking together, as employers, educators, institutions and policymakers, rather than apart.
If this paper stimulates even one new conversation, one new collaboration, or one young person to explore a career in surface engineering, then it will have achieved its purpose.
Mark Beard FIMF and Christina Beard BSc (Hons), Co-Founders of MJB Surface Advisors
The full white paper can be read and downloaded free of charge using the link at the top of this page.
This publication may be shared for educational, research and non-commercial purposes provided appropriate acknowledgement is given to the authors and MJB Surface Advisors Ltd.
Suggested citation: Beard, C. and Beard, M. (2026) Securing the Future Workforce of the Metal Finishing Industry: Third Edition.
If any part of this paper has struck a chord, we would like to hear from you. Get in touch at info@mjb-surfaceadvisors.co.uk
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