Productivity: what is the issue in the UK?

Wayne Jones was born in Manchester in 1966 and graduated with an Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1992. Prior to his Academic qualification, he completed a 4-year Apprenticeship that later inspired some of his Leadership and Corporate and Social Responsibility philosophies. He has been employed in the Manufacturing Industry for more than 30 years, holding various positions in Sales, Project Management, Operations, Engineering and R&D and during his career, he has resided in Norway, UAE and Oman.

Wayne started his career at British Aerospace in Woodford, completing his Apprenticeship at Mather & Platt in Newton Heath before moving to the Sulzer Corporation, a Swiss company with a factory located in Leeds, UK. Here he moved onto the Board of Directors responsible for all after sales activities in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

He joined the MAN Group in 2005 to head the UK aftermarket business before becoming Managing Director in October of the same year. Wayne led a major restructuring programme turning the Company from significant losses into a profitable result in less than 18 months. In 2009 a new purpose-built Headquarters was constructed in Greater Manchester, housing a state-of-the-art Academy, one of only 13 across the entire worldwide MAN organisation. This was used to develop the skills of the existing workforce, created a commercial opportunity to train the customer base and was utilised by many schools and colleges to give student first had knowledge of this sector.

Wayne is passionate and committed to his Industry and ensuring the next generation of Engineers have the opportunities to be inspired and embark on interesting and challenging careers. To deliver these future concepts, Wayne Chaired the Employer Ownership Skills in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with the goal of significantly increasing new Apprenticeships in the next generation. As a result of this program close to 1000 young people started their apprenticeships in 2014. Wayne was President of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the largest Chamber in the UK, from 2017- 2019 and is still a member of the board today and is Chair of Engineering & Manufacturing Forum.

Other areas of CSR which Wayne has initiated are closer business links with local Universities, Colleges (he is a Fellow of Stockport College of Technology) and Schools which include work experience for students with learning difficulties, developing a work readiness programme, Apprenticeships and Internships. He is frequently asked to speak at international conferences on Leadership, Change Management and Cultural Awareness in Business.

On 1 January 2016 he became the first British national in the history of the company to join the Executive Board of MAN Energy Solutions, responsible for Sales and After Sales with Revenues of over Euro 4.25 billion and responsibility for more than 14,000 employees. During his 7 years in office, Wayne led the entire Front-End organisation in a significant change program resulting in an increase Revenues of more than 35% with double digit RoS (300% increase 2019 to 2022)

Wayne Jones is married and has two children and one grandchild. He lives in Mellor, Cheshire is a keen hiker, is interested in various sports and is an avid Manchester United fan! In March 2016, he was honoured by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to young people and the Northwest.

Reece is a Senior Lecturer of Industrial Relations and an International Lead within the Manchester Metropolitan University Business and Law School. Following a master's degree in HRM and doctorate in the field of Work and Employment Relations, Reece's research focuses principally on what constitutes 'decent' work and alternative modes of work and society to neoliberal capitalism. As a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and member of the CIPD, Reece has been fortunate to present such work across the United States, Europe, and Australia.