Episode 1 The Town Taking on China

This is the story of one small town in the north of England...

..and its attempt to take on the economic might

of one of the fastest-growing nations in the world.

This is the battle of Kirkby versus...

..China.

And the weapon of choice? Cushions.

If they can make them quicker, cheaper, and better than their Asian competitor,

then it will prove that jobs can come back to Britain for good.

We believe that our girls and our staff are good enough here to compete with anybody.

But the competition is tough.

More than 1,000 factories in this area.

For me to actually take jobs from here back to Merseyside,

it's a big challenge. Why do it? This is where it's at.

They'll have to find new people...

You haven't got factory experience.

I don't mind giving you the 3.70 to help you get in if that helps.

..train them in the lost skills of manufacturing...

I can't do it at all.

Making 1,000 of these a week sounds really far off.

I'll get my whip and go, "Stop doing that."

When they can do zips, they can do any job.

..they'll have to hang onto them...

I just wondered if you could give us a quick call,

just let us know if you're coming back or not.

-That's a pity, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-She made such a good start as well.

He went for his dinner and he's never come back. I haven't seen him since.

..and work together to pull it off.

-Look at that.

-You've got the job.

-I've got the job.

SHE LAUGHS

This is better than getting a giro every two weeks.

That is a tenth of what I need you to do.

Stop panicking, just get your head down, concentrate.

Can this town prove

that the British manufacturing lion can roar once more

and take on the Asian tiger?

Morning, ladies. ALL: Morning.

Tony Caldeira owns two cushion factories.

These would be good for a fight, wouldn't they?

Land Of Hope And Glory! What do you reckon?

In Kirkby, Merseyside, he employs 40 people.

-How long have you worked for us now?

-14 years.

-14 years.

You don't get that for armed robbery, do you? THEY LAUGH

And in this factory on China's industrial east coast,

he employs 50.

Now Tony is embarking upon

one of the biggest business experiments of his career.

What I'm trying to do here is bring work back from China to the UK.

In China, wage costs and general inflation is very high at the moment

and it's becoming less and less competitive.

Tony wants to prove that Britain can capitalise on increasing

Chinese costs and reinvigorate its own manufacturing base

to steal back the work.

It's an experiment that will pit Kirkby against China,

a David and Goliath battle.

Tony has given himself three months to find the right staff,

train them, and then hang onto them.

If we can't get the right staff to get the goods produced in time,

we'll let our customers down, we'll lose the orders,

and all of this project, all of this experiment, all of this trial that we've currently got

is all going to be a waste of time.

It's the beginning of Tony's crusade.

He's hitting Kirkby town centre in his search for the next generation of British manufacturers.

We need staff quickly.

At short notice,

80 job-hungry people have turned up to hear what he has to offer.

The girl in the red cardigan. She'll give you all the necessary forms.

Competition for jobs is tough.

In this area, there are 14 unemployed people for every vacancy.

Any job that we put out,

we are oversubscribed for in terms of numbers applying for it.

46 people have been invited for interviews,

with jobs ranging from warehouse work and cushion stuffing

to the skilled craft of sewing.

Will these be Kirkby's heroes in the quest to defeat China?

-What would your ideal job be?

-Well, at the moment, just a stable job.

-OK.

-Something that's going to keep my feet on the ground.

Have you done anything that's similar, either in manufacturing

or warehousing, or anything like that, or production line work?

-Have you done anything along those lines?

-No.

-However, I am willing to learn and easily adapt to it.

-OK.

What actually goes against you is the fact that you haven't got

direct factory experience.

How are you going to be able to manage working underneath someone

when you've been used to supervising for a long time?

-Are you not over-qualified?

-Well, no. It's just the way I work.

I just like to get the job done.

For the past 15 years, we've both worked in basically the same place.

We're brothers, he's my younger brother.

Hopefully, we can get this job together now.

Two hardest working lads you'll ever get, mate, I'm telling you.

-I'm not just saying that to try and get us the job, but we are.

-But you will.

The factory offers the minimum wage to start with, at £6.08 an hour,

and for 18 to 20-year-olds, just under a fiver.

If you'd like to just take a seat.

Rebecca is just 19.

On her CV is a fast food outlet, a sunbed shop and a call centre.

She last used a sewing machine at school,

but it's a far cry from working on a factory floor.

I like the way that you've always tried your best to stay in work

but you don't seem to have been able to have held anything down.

-Is that because you were at college?

-I've gone from job to job straightaway.

-I've never really not had a job.

-OK.

Also hoping to make it onto Tony's fast sewing floor

is 19-year-old Sophie.

She's been out of full-time work for six months,

but she does have an evening job.

My job at the moment is I only work in a chippy

and obviously it's limited hours so it's only £55 a week,

which, like, for a young girl isn't very much, do you know what I mean?

I've had to get help with my rent and stuff off, like, family.

So it would be nice to get this job.

I am really hard-working. I always have been.

And from reception to year 11, I never had one day off school.

I had 100% attendance all the time.

If any town is in need of a boost to manufacturing, then it's this one.

Kirkby, in the borough of Knowsley,

is just down the road from Liverpool.

We had the decline in the '80s.

Unemployment rose to probably in the region of about 22%.

So we've had generational unemployment

and we're probably looking at second generation worklessness now.

The North was Britain's manufacturing heartland,

but years of decline have taken their toll.

Today, Kirkby is in the fifth most deprived borough in England,

with a quarter of people claiming some kind of benefit,

and the unemployment level is 70% higher than the national average.

No jobs being created, you know. Despondency everywhere.

Yeah. It's a bad time to be young.

I'm on the internet every day looking. I don't like...

I hate not working. I got made redundant and it's not easy.

I don't think people are interested.

They look at me and they think, "Oh, well, he needs training

"so we'll look at someone older who's already got it."

Tony's taken on 17 new staff.

For Nick, Paul, Gary, his brother Todd,

Rebecca, Sophie and Val, it's their first day.

These will be the troops in his battle

against China's global dominance.

-Morning, ladies, you all right?

-ALL: Yes.

-You all up for this?

-ALL: Yes.

If you want to follow me now, I'll sort you out.

Leading the new trainees is Pam, the head of the sewing floor,

with over 38 years' experience.

Her main focus will be Rebecca and Sophie with no factory experience.

Val has sewn before.

I don't like people who mess me around.

And I've not had anybody who messes me around.

They'll all listen to me and they'll all do what I ask.

If Kirkby's going to take on China,

then these two 19-year-olds will have to do what she asks.

But right now just learning to thread the machine is a challenge.

Round, in between them two little plates.

And then you see that spring there? It catches on that.

Through that little hole, through there, then through your needle.

Did you watch all that? Are you sure?

Neither of them has ever worked with an industrial machine before.

So what way do you go round the plates?

-That goes through there, and through that.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-And back through that one.

I've put it through the silver bit, over that, and down.

Unless they churn out a minimum of 1,000 cushions a week,

they'll be a cost to the business.

I've been looking for work for a few months now and it came up.

I went to Connexions and it just came up and she said,

"Have you got experience?" I said, "I've done it in school."

I did like doing it in school but I didn't think I'd have a career in it

and now I'm working in a factory doing cushions.

-But you've done everything right except you go that way.

-That way, yeah.

They'll have a few little hiccups, you know,

but other than that, they're doing really well.

They threaded the needle the wrong way,

but that's to be expected - they've never done it before.

You need to write on your docket, "No labels."

Pam has run the factory's experienced sewing floor for 12 years.

I've always had praise for Tony because he gave me a chance

and I'm hoping that I've repaid him 110%.

She's in charge of 12 machinists, who, together,

sew 12,000 cushions a week.

You should have seen me on Saturday night trying to walk in them shoes.

-I was walking like a model.

-SHE LAUGHS

Joanne's been a machinist since she was 16 and is one of the fastest.

You can come in and watch me

and you think, "I'll never be able to do that."

And you've just got to learn.

And in the end, you can do it as good as I do.

After 26 years of sewing, Joanne is here to stay.

Hopefully, I'll be here until I'm 60. Cos I like my job.

I think I fit in very well.

They all know me now, they're used to me, and you get what you see.

SHE LAUGHS

But the floor's in need of young blood.

Sewing is a dying skill and the youngest person here is 39.

Hi, Debbie. You all right?

Malcolm's the factory's manager

and Tony's right-hand man for the last 12 years.

It's his job to make the dream of the Kirkby expansion come true.

You've done 200 by now. That's brilliant. Right, see you later.

No, it's not going to be simple.

There are always complications when you try things like this.

With his 30 years of experience in textiles,

Malcolm will be the person trusted to implement Tony's plan.

People have always said that me and him are a good combination

because I'm the boring one who keeps his feet on the ground.

He wants to go at 300 miles an hour

and I'm going at a snail's pace, shall we say.

Tony's always full of ideas. Malcolm will go, "Oh, no, not again."

Tony's current challenge for Malcolm is nothing less

than to resuscitate British manufacturing with the new recruits.

In many ways, a lot of our workforce is getting older

and a lot of the skill base is also getting older as well.

We're getting to the point where we need to get some new staff in

and some younger people into the industry

so we've got a long-term sustainable future.

But Malcolm's sceptical about recruiting trainees.

Until they're up to speed, they're a cost to the business.

We've not had people under 20 for quite some time, actually, training.

We've tended to recruit more experienced ladies

because we need to make cushions quickly.

When you start to train people,

obviously they don't add any extra work to your output.

Like all the machinists,

Rebecca and Sophie will be paid minimum wage

but can earn a bonus if they break their targets

of about 50 cushions an hour.

But at the moment, there's a lot to learn.

Press your foot back now.

They won't be able to make the money straightaway.

I can remember I never used to earn money straight away.

And then gradually, they will.

There's still a long way to go

if the new recruits are to compete with the Chinese workers

who earn just one pound an hour.

In the warehouse,

it's also the first day for brothers Nick and Paul.

If you just push the box in...

They were both unemployed before Tony gave them a chance.

I used to go out my front door at 7:30am, 8am,

looking for a job, every day, Monday to Friday.

I basically used to just get up thinking I was going to work,

cos I was going to work, trying to find a job.

The best thing about the job...

..is just having a job, basically, not being on benefits.

£67.50 a week, you just cannot live on it, can you?

Do you know what I mean?

You buy food, you pay leccy, you pay gas - you've got no money left.

-How are you supposed to live on that?

-It's a joke.

Are you listening, Cameron? Just in case you're watching as well!

HE LAUGHS

Nine hours on the factory floor

has been tough for the younger new recruits.

-Tired, very tired. I just need me bed.

-I do.

Too tired.

I'd say I'm feeling quite tired now.

I can tell I've had an early morning and a long day kind of thing.

I'm starting to feel it now to be honest.

I do hope they will be back tomorrow because I have seen it before,

where people have come in, been a very positive and confident first day

and then the following day they just don't turn up.

The working day hasn't ended for Sophie.

It might be five o'clock,

but in half an hour she'll start her evening job to earn more money.

It means on Mondays and Tuesdays her working day won't finish until 10pm.

Yeah, it's, like, a long day, so,

it has been a lot of grafting, really.

Been up since early this morning, and obviously now,

it's getting a bit late. I'm just dying for me bed really.

By having two jobs, I've got me money to get by and then me money

to spend on myself, so I think I will end up keeping the two jobs

whether it kills me or not, just so I can spend money.

6,000 miles away on the east coast of China,

Tony owns a second factory.

In the eight years he's been there,

he's seen how the country has grown to global dominance.

Key to that is the dedication of the Chinese workers.

In Zhejiang province, Tony's staff sleep at the factory,

and only go home once a year.

They are very hardworking, very aspirational,

very keen to do better, of course.

Most of the workers have migrated to the east coast

to earn bigger wages and send the money home.

What's your hope for the future? What are you working towards?

But the Chinese workforce is changing.

Soaring costs in the shops mean they want more pay.

In the last eight years,

the basic pay in Tony's factory has rocketed from 20p to £1 an hour.

On top of wage inflation,

there's an unfavourable exchange rate for the west,

shipping costs, taxes and cultural barriers.

You know people would say China was, you know,

the cheapest place in the world to manufacture.

It isn't anymore. The fact of the matter is fairly simple, you know,

China isn't going to dominate the world's manufacturing forever.

These rising costs have already led Tony

to reduce his workforce in China from 200 to 50.

The changes in China are a big opportunity for Britain.

Tony is expanding in Kirkby, or at least that's the plan.

There's already been a resignation.

On the sewing floor, Rebecca and Sophie are still struggling

with the demands of a skilled machinist's job.

Are you going on the proper cushions now?

And you're going to be doing boxing.

It's to me a bit easier job but it won't be to them,

they've got to learn.

But are they ready, willing and able?

So you've sewn all the way around.

So when it's turned through, there's your cushion made. OK?

In the end they'll be on zips, which is a really hard job,

and then, when they can do zips they can do any job.

I'll just unpick that for you there,

cos you'll have to re-sew it, from there to there.

You'll get there.

When you go on proper work, it's a lot more difficult, ain't it?

-Yeah.

-You'll be fine, though.

She ended up having to unpick a bit of work

because I told her to flatten the zip out,

and it wasn't quite flat enough, so I made her unpick it,

because, quality!

Ugh, feel like crying. Cos I can't do it at all.

And making 1,000 of these a week sounds very far off.

Last time we had young people working here,

upstairs on sewing machines, was...

a good few years ago, it was that long I can't remember.

If Tony's plan to take on China is to work,

then he needs his new workers to learn quickly.

-You OK, love?

-It just keeps doing that all the time to me.

Right, let's have a look.

You're fine, once you get your angle you'll be fine. Don't worry.

You let your machine do the work and you just guide it.

Get to the end like that.

What it is, it's just angling. There you are. OK?

See that corner done then. OK, love?

Don't get too frustrated. You'll be all right.

By the end of the day, Rebecca has had to unpick her sewing five times.

Sophie, just once.

Sophie was a lot more confident, you could tell she'd done

something like that before, like in college, and Rebecca..

I don't know whether Rebecca's done the same

but Sophie picked it up a lot quicker than Rebecca.

She's still doing well but she's just a bit more nervous.

Yeah when, when you start getting angry with yourself,

you're just like, "I'll give up," but then you can't do that,

you've got to keep going cos you've got targets to hit, so...

Don't know, should be all right though.

Because she was getting a bit flustered today,

I just hope she comes in tomorrow and starts afresh

and then she'll get back into it.

But I just don't want her panicking and getting herself all frustrated.

How many boxes of these?

Five.

Also in their first week are Gary and Todd.

They're working on filling and packing

and are the second set of brothers the factory's taken on.

When I got the call I was made up.

I got straight on the phone to my family and told them I got the job.

But it's relentless work for minimum wage.

At the moment Todd is on a job where he can earn a bonus,

but his brother Gary can't.

My works a lot harder than what Gary's doing,

he's got an easy job, just picking up cushions and loading them.

You have to pack 50 bags an hour before you can earn any kind of bonus.

You've got to do a hell of a lot to get a bonus, a hell of a lot.

I think for what he's doing now you get 15p a bag.

The pressure on the bagging area is speed.

It is speed because the fillers never, ever stop,

I won't allow them to stop,

so the baggers, even if they think "I'm very tired I need a minute,"

they can't because it's piling up and piling up, and I'll walk along

and say, "Why's that piling up, come on."

-Right, Todd, how many are you up to now, love?

-35.

35? Brilliant, OK, love.

Todd hasn't hit no bonuses yet, so we get the same money.

I reckon like a month or something,

I'd say then I'll probably earn a bit of a bonus, not much though.

If Todd starts earning more money then he can start taking me to the pub.

Taking on the might of the far east is hard work

and for British manufacturing's troops, it's time for their reward.

-You all right, Todd?

-Thank you.

Most of them have earned minimum wage

and are taking home £213 a week after tax.

-Still enjoying it?

-Yeah.

But the minimum wage is less for the 18-20 year olds.

And they have just £182 in their pocket.

-Here you go, Sophie, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

It could be worse. In China, the workers earn £50 a week.

It's my first pay check since five months,

and you know, it's just better than getting a giro every two weeks, basically.

The last time I got properly paid was about...3-4 months ago.

Well, this time it'll make a big difference cos I've been living off £40 a week.

It's a fortnight into Tony's plan to bring work back to Britain from China,

and there's already signs that the experiment is starting to creak.

Rebecca has called in sick for the second time.

Hi, Gary, you all right?

-Believe you might know something that I don't?

-Uh, yeah, I think...

-Rebecca's started a new job.

-Really?

Only across the road in Vertex.

She was talking about it on Friday, when we finished,

saying that she got a phone call from Vertex.

She said she's going to go in and see them on Monday,

and with her not turning in, I think she might have got the job.

You've not heard whether she had?

I don't know if she has yet, don't know if she's definitely got the job.

That's a pity, isn't it? She made such a good start as well.

Oh well, back to the drawing board then.

-All right, thanks for that, mate. All the best.

-See you in a bit.

To lose a second employee is a real blow for Tony.

He wants to offer manufacturing to a new generation,

but even with high local unemployment, he's got competition.

Well, that's really disappointing because it looks

as though she's got a relatively easy job, an easier job,

not as physically demanding a job in a call centre

where she's got more money.

That just goes to show how difficult it is to actually get people

to start learning a trade, such as sewing machining.

I think the new job Rebecca's gone to, got about 7.50 an hour

so it's quite a bit more.

They said it was boring, like, upstairs

but they couldn't hit the targets either.

Becca didn't mind the job at first, but she did get her first wage slip

and I did see her face drop.

There's a lot of hours that you're putting in,

doesn't look all that amazingly much for what you do,

but I think she's just found something where she does less work for more money basically.

By leaving to work in a call centre,

Rebecca has managed to increase her pay by a third.

Hi, Rebecca. Tony here, hope you're well.

Just heard from one of the guys that you might've found some other

alternative employment here in Merseyside

and just wondered if you could give us a quick call and just let us know

if you're coming back or not, that'd be much appreciated.

Thank you, bye bye.

Rebecca has got a job in a call centre.

Malcolm's fears of being let down by inexperienced staff have come true.

So, it's disappointing, really, isn't it?

What about replacing her, what do you think we should do?

Well, from Rebecca's point of view we had another experienced machinist

who had called us so we basically give her a ring now

and she's going to come in and see us tomorrow.

OK. Sounds good.

News has spread.

On their tea break, Joanne and Pam

are joined by old hands Sharon and Carol.

The thing is, though, she didn't give it much time because wherever

she's gone working now, how does she know it's going to last...

But she didn't. To me, she didn't put the effort in,

I don't think she wanted to do it. If you don't want do it...

But, Carol, if she's in a call centre, answering a phone,

it's different than working a machine,

doing piece work everyday, isn't it?

She's not going to learn much answering a phone, is she?

The conversation turns to the factory's pay level.

Minimum wage is definitely not enough to live on.

Not when somebody's on their own, and if they've got a mortgage

and if you've not got a partner, meaning Sharon.

I mean she's only her.

She's got a mortgage, she pays the bills, she's got to pay food.

It should be at least 7-7.50 an hour.

I think it should be 7.50, we would never ever get that.

We would never get 7.50, but I think for what we do,

yeah, I think we deserve 7.50 and more.

But if we were, they couldn't be competitive and we'd close.

They want everything cheaper and they say we can get it cheaper here,

get it cheaper there.

By the end of the week, three out of the original 17 new recruits have jumped ship.

For Sophie, Gary, Todd, Nick and Paul,

the reality of a factory job at minimum wage is sinking in.

If another job came along, offering better money,

obviously you're going to take it, know what I mean?

With this job at the moment, you cannot do nothing.

You go home and you eat your tea and you go to bed,

just about pay the Sky bill.

I don't work for this company, I just work for the money.

Yeah, you work for the money at the end of the week.

I work for my family, my boss is my family, that's it.

If I get home and I've got no money for the ice cream van

or for anything like that, or tell my little lad

he can't play on the PlayStation then that's what I work for.

I work for him, I don't work for Mr Caldeira or whoever.

I work for my son and my missus, you know what I mean,

and my house, that's who I work for.

Ultimately, our customers won't allow us to pay our staff anymore.

If we paid our staff too much, our products would become too expensive

and then we wouldn't have any business at all.

Staying competitive is crucial if the experiment is to succeed.

His British workers are up against the whole of China.

Tony's owned a factory here for eight years.

Good to see you.

Just like in Kirkby, there's a staffing crisis brewing.

-Hey, Sachy. Ni Hao.

-Ni hao.

Helping Tony sort it out is Zhai, his financial controller.

If you can tell her I don't want her to leave because I like her work.

Tony is being held to ransom by one of his staff.

Originally he came to China as labour costs were low.

People view the Chinese workforce as quite docile and subservient,

but this younger generation of Chinese has more confidence.

It's, you know, it is cockier almost.

I can't pay a crazy salary.

Also, I need to pay a fair salary for the job.

Sachy has worked in the warehouse for three years.

She's been offered a 30% pay rise, but it's not good enough.

She said she has told you she wants 50,000 per year.

This would give her a 50% pay rise.

If you can't pay her that,

-she suggests that you can find another worker instead of her.

-OK.

She's actually wanting a 50% pay rise, in essence,

and basically sticking a gun to my head and saying,

"If you don't pay me 50% more then I'm off somewhere else."

Bye bye.

In the UK warehouse, if somebody came to me and said,

"I want a 25% pay rise,"

you know, they'd be on the next bus back to Kirkby.

It just wouldn't happen, because there's another 100, 200, 300 people waiting to take their place.

In here, it's not like that.

High wage demands aren't his only problem.

It's just after Chinese New Year and there's been a mass exodus of staff.

It happens every February as one year's contracts finish

and the staff look for a better job.

With one recruitment drive down in Britain, Tony's now got

to embark on one in China.

This is Chinese for the Job Centre.

Hundreds of manufacturing positions are on offer.

HE SPEAKS IN CHINESE

This is bonkers. In the UK, there are more workers than jobs.

In China, there are more jobs than workers.

With a labour shortage,

doing business in China isn't as easy as it used to be.

Tony will have to compete with all the other employers

for the best staff.

You've got literally millions of people who have the opportunity

of choosing which place to go to, which factory to actually work in.

You can see here, before, that was 2,000,

they've now just changed it to 3,000.

Somebody's just had a 50% pay rise.

3,000 RNB is equivalent to £300 a month.

Are they interested? Do they think the salary is good

or what do they think?

A lot of workers are looking for a guaranteed salary

rather than pay linked to the amount they produce.

The guaranteed salary is 2,000 but also, as a piece worker,

it means he can earn more if he is good.

What he'll probably do is go around the different factories

and find out which is his best option.

This is the 11th day of the job fair and it's still heaving.

Within 10 minutes of being there, they've run out of leaflets.

We've had a good reaction, so that's a good start.

People aren't just throwing the leaflets back and saying, "No, thanks,"

They're having a look, they're studying, they're thinking about it.

In Britain, the factory picks the staff.

Here in China, it's the staff who pick the factory.

And what better way than to check out the potential workplace.

We tend to find that you get, maybe groups of people together,

maybe a bunch of friends or relations,

sometimes husband and wife teams that actually come from maybe

1,000 miles, 2,000 miles away in the west of China to the coast

and they'll want to work together in the team.

Although recruitment is difficult and costs are rising in China,

a short drive illustrates what a threat it still is.

The Hangzhou Bay area is famous.

You know, it's the capital of home textiles manufacturing in the world.

It's probably like Lancashire was in the 18th, 19th century,

where we were the workshop of the world.

Now, that workshop of the world, in terms of home textiles, is here.

If Tony's going to take more jobs back to the UK,

it could mean leaving this area.

He's decided to visit one of his fabric suppliers

to do more research.

And it's a very different place to Kirkby.

Ni hao.

Chen is one of the factory's managers.

In this area, how many textile factories in total do you think there are?

More than 1,000 factories in this area all making textiles?

Why is the factory here?

We have the skilled workers who know the textile business.

You have many suppliers, who are in this area and can work together.

It's also very close to the port,

Also, because there's many companies here,

all the buyers come to this area,

so our customers also come here as well.

For me to actually take jobs back from here,

back to Merseyside is, you know, it's a big challenge, why do it?

This is where it's at, this is, you know,

this is where it's all going on in textile, so it's going

to be a really big challenge for me to be able to compete.

Back in Merseyside, there's not many jobs and lots of people.

A labour surplus, so hanging on to staff in Kirkby should be easy.

But a fourth new starter has abandoned the factory

and it's only the third week of the experiment.

Training new people to sew is also proving difficult.

Hold it, put your hand... Hold that.

-I'm left-handed so it's backwards for me.

-All right.

Straight down, go on, go on.

The only issue we do have is Sophie, really,

who we need to push on a little bit.

-So are my ends a bit wonky?

-Yeah, you're going too far down, yeah.

She's got all the basics now,

she knows the quality standards we're looking for.

She's got used to her machine, so now there's no reason why

she shouldn't start to push on with her performance now.

Open your zip a bit, that's it.

Malcolm's worried about Sophie's productivity.

To give you an idea, somebody like Joanne,

who's one of our quicker machinists, will be earning performance

of somewhere around sort of 100, 110, 120%

or in that sort of level.

Some of our recruits who are experienced,

they're about 90% now

and then Sophie who's literally started from scratch,

she's sort of getting into the 20% margin,

just managing to creep up on a daily basis.

Carol, do you want a sandwich?

Pam and the girls have decided to have a chat with Sophie.

At the end of the day you've got to have your confidence.

Once you've got your confidence then you will go.

Once you get used to it and the way we sew, then you just pick it up.

You know, when you're sewing, you're like lightning.

Yeah, I've had years of experience.

I started off the way you did, believe me, shaking and fixing.

I really do fumble, I realise that that's my main problem, that I just fumble.

We've got to get that out of you now.

You will overcome that.

If anyone sees me shaking, can you just going to have to...

Yeah, I'll get me whip and go swoosh. Stop doing that!

Malcolm's struggling with Tony's vision of training inexperienced youngsters.

Although it's very good to bring people in and train them up

and we have tried to steer away from this

simply because of three reasons.

One, there's a cost implication for the business.

Two, when we're recruiting we need the work quickly

and if you take a trainee on they don't actually manufacture

much stock in the sort of early period of time, and finally,

quality, we've got to make sure that we don't lose our quality.

With so many new staff abandoning ship,

Tony could follow Malcolm's advice and opt for experienced workers.

But Tony wants to do more than just get the orders out of the door.

He wants to reinvigorate British manufacturing

and he thinks he might have found a new way,

with the long term unemployed.

At least some of the people that haven't worked for a long time,

might be more interested in actually building a career

and having the patience and the tenacity to stick at it.

Tony's hoping that the potential applicants he'll find here

are less likely to abandon him for other jobs.

So we've got some jobs on the production line.

Sometimes it might just be making the cushions.

Generally, what kind of issues do your clients face?

People who have had long-term health-related issues, disabilities

and people looking after young families

but are looking to get out to work.

Offenders and ex-offenders.

Do Britain's hopes for stealing work back from China lie in this room?

So what kind of work are you looking for?

Well, you've mentioned about the sewing and stuff.

I've got experience working on sewing machines.

I got my experience working on sewing machines while I was in prison.

What would it mean to you if we could actually give you a chance?

Well, it starts me on that road,

where I can be a responsible member of society living an honest life.

80% of the clients who we support into work,

maintain the job after three months, and 70% after 12 months.

There are risks involved. However, on the flip side,

some of them are really keen to actually learn the trade,

and because it's very difficult for them to get a job,

they may actually knuckle down and get stuck in.

Tony needs to get his experiment back on track.

He's got vacancies on the sewing floor.

It's hard to motivate yourself to go out to look for work

cos you get turned down.

Most of them don't even turn you down, they just don't get back.

Like Lauren, Lisa has some limited experience in sewing

but there are other issues holding her back.

I've done 6 months care of my granddad.

He unfortunately got attacked. He had carers previously

because he had a fall and, yeah, two of them pretended to be carers

and come into his home so I just spoke to the family and just agreed

with them that it was best that I took on caring full time for him.

But would it affect his care though, if we gave you a chance?

Well, I spoke to him and he'd like me to do full time,

but I told him I'd try part time first off and then we'll see

how we're going with his care and stuff.

John sewed bin men's gloves in prison.

You've been very honest with me

and you've told me that you've got a criminal record.

I mean, what was that all about?

Well, because I got involved with using drugs and drinking,

I couldn't finance the addiction.

So I started smuggling drugs myself.

I got seven years for smuggling cannabis.

You're telling me now that you're clean and you got over it?

I went into a treatment centre, 12 step programme, 13 months ago.

So what is it, like a rehab clinic or something?

Now a lot of people would think actually I'm taking a risk by taking you on.

I mean how are you going to help me reduce that risk?

I live one day at a time,

and as soon as anything goes wrong for me, people are aware of it.

Do you know? I believe I'm more reliable now than I've ever been.

Tony has decided to test the sewing skills of all three

in a trial at the factory.

I'm excited and nervous.

What was the outcome?

Just to sort my benefits, cos I'm a carer

so I need to sort that out before.

I feel privileged, to be able to be given a chance

and to go on and prove myself in the factory.

Giving somebody a job can be, you know,

quite a life-changing experience for some of the people

and it's quite humbling sometimes when you can see people

that desperately want to work for your organisation,

just to give them that chance.

Tony might be enthusiastic about the long-term unemployed...

They had all kinds of people who hadn't worked for a long time.

..but Malcolm's doubts are clear.

What do you think, do you think it's a bit of a risk or...

Oh yeah, sounds very much so to me.

I mean, do you think you're going to have time

to get any trials done next week or what are you thinking?

Well, I'm up to here, Tony, at the minute.

If you wouldn't mind, if you could pick that one up next week,

that would help me out massively.

All right, if that's the situation then I'll take it from here.

Perhaps when they come in next week,

I'll work with Pam and Joanne and the rest of the team.

We'll see if we can give them a trial and see how they get on.

It's the day of the sewing trials but already there's bad news.

John's called in to cancel his.

He's been in rehabilitation for over a year

and his case worker thinks he's not ready for employment.

Lisa has her trial at 10 but so far there's no sign of her.

-Hi, is Lisa there?

-Yeah, this is Lisa.

-Hi, Lisa, it's Tony here.

-How are you?

-Hiya, Tony.

-Are you all right?

Oh yeah, just been a bit of a problem this morning.

I got an Arriva bus pass, you see, and when I got to the bus stop,

there were no other buses apart from Stagecoach

and I didn't have the money on me

to afford a Stagecoach bus pass as well, you see.

I mean, is there any chance you could come later on today

or is that going to be too difficult for you now?

Well, that means borrowing more money you see.

I've already borrowed the 3.70 for my bus pass.

I mean, I don't mind giving you the 3.70 just to give you,

to help you get in if that helps.

Yeah? Yeah, that would be... that would be even better.

Also booked in for a trial is Lauren. She was due at 12.

It's now half past.

It's probably odds against now, if she comes in,

because I think if she was going to be here,

chances are she would either have arrived at midday

or she would have called, so she's probably not coming.

It's now two in the afternoon,

and Lisa has finally been able to take the bus to the factory.

-Joanne, this is Lisa Murray.

-Hello, you all right, love?

-Yeah.

Joanne will be taking Lisa through the sewing trial.

I'm scared.

Hold it there, right. Go on.

Oh, she did fantastic, Lisa. Really good, Really impressed.

I think she could do really well here.

You could tell, soon as she come in, the confidence and everything.

Just exactly like me!

It was easy cos I've done textiles before.

I caught on kind of quick and I was listening to her as well, so that was a bonus.

But Joanne's decided that Lisa isn't the only one

that should go on trial.

Last time I did this was about 20 years ago.

Can't believe you got me to have a go at it.

I know, sit down, I'm the boss now!

Yes, miss, I'll be all right.

-Hold on a minute, I'm showing you.

-Sorry. Yes, boss.

Right, all that and then straight down.

-Oh, look at that.

-Look at that.

-Look at that.

-Even better than mine.

-You've got the job.

-I've got the job, yay!

-Look at that, just flying with it.

-He's showing off, he's showing off.

-Ah, look what he did!

-I can't believe it.

That's torn it.

Lisa may have been better than Tony but his hope of her

being the saviour of the British factory could be dashed.

What really is available? Is it mainly part-time or full-time?

Well, at the moment, most of the workers that we've got here,

most of the sewing machinists work full-time.

We can sometimes arrange part-time work as well

and I think that's what you wanted in the long run.

I know you've still got to sort some things out with your granddad, haven't you?

Yeah, I do want to do part-time,

-but obviously, I want to work my way to full-time as well.

-OK, good.

But if Lisa's to be trained,

Tony thinks she will need to be full-time straight away.

So he's parking her application.

Thank you.

While Tony has been busy with the long-term unemployed,

Malcolm has had his own ideas.

He's reverted to more conventional recruitment methods,

and found someone with sewing experience

to take up the seat left vacant by Rebecca.

Well, I done this 10 years ago, and only when you're just getting

the gist of everything, it all starts to come back to you.

Emma's done embroidery, used an embroidery machine

which is a bit different than what she's used to now.

But she's picked it up all right, she seems to have settled in today.

Someone who's having difficulty settling into the factory

is trainee machinist Sophie.

Having both a day job and an evening job is taking its toll.

Despite her 100% attendance record at school,

she's called in sick more than once.

Sophie's not in today. She was off last Monday

and then she was off, I think, Monday and Tuesday the week before.

So altogether she's had about four days off.

It is quite a lot for a new starter,

It's a shame really because she was doing well.

-There you go, my love. There's your tea.

-Thank you.

Let's hope that Sophie comes in tomorrow

-cos she could make a good machinist.

-She can sew a sofa.

They're never going to learn if they're staying off or they're sick.

Also, at our age, Jo, we come in whether we're dying or not.

I've been in here, sore throat, box of tissues by the side of me,

I've still sewn all day.

When Sophie is in, there's a lot for her to think about.

It's been quite a busy week, I'm in work today and even though

I was sick, by five yesterday afternoon, I was starting

to feel a bit better, so I went into my other part-time job last night

and then yesterday, part-time job tonight and then back in tomorrow.

To be honest, I think all my days have run into one.

I think it's all just one long day and it finishes on Friday

and I just try to get my head down and get on with it.

She's going to have to,

otherwise the plan to steal jobs back from the Chinese could fail.

Malcolm's used to suffering in silence

but he's decided to speak out.

He's worried that the experiment's in trouble.

The trainees are putting the factory under stress.

You know, it's all right to just say,

let's bring them in and train them,

but they need space and they need a machine.

And you've also got the cost involved as well, you know.

This time of year when you're just so desperate to get your orders out,

it really is a pain to bring in trainees.

We've got to be very careful what we do,

but if we've no option, we'll do that,

but is there alternatives?

I mean, is there no agencies out there who do some training,

so we're not having to train them ourselves?

It's something the ladies of the sewing floor

have an opinion about as they take their minibus home.

It's just so hard to get all the orders out.

-Yeah.

-When you're trying to look after trainees

and trying to get the work out as well.

-Yeah.

-It just doesn't work.

How much production have you lost, do you reckon, Pam?

-We're down.

-We are down.

-Yeah.

Cos you're trying to help them and it's a constant thing.

It's just mad at the minute.

If you're only going to get people off the dole and trainees,

I think you need, like, a proper training school.

Although the trainees are disruptive to them,

they're also doubtful about the number

of experienced machinists out there.

People who used to do machining years ago and they've got other jobs

doing other things, they would never go back into machining.

-Go back. No, never.

-No, never go back.

-Definitely not.

-They just wouldn't, cos of the pay and everything.

-Yeah.

A lot of them, Carol, left, didn't they?

And went to supermarkets.

If you want to stop for 10 minutes,

in the supermarket, they do.

At our place, you can't just stop for 10 minutes

and say, "Oh, I'll just sit down."

-You've lost 10 minutes' pay, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-You've got your plans now for next week.

-Right.

At last, the battle to boost British manufacturing

looks like it might have a chance.

Orders are rolling in at the Kirkby factory.

Keep the girls going as quickly as you can, really,

cos there's just loads to do, Pam.

Can't tell you how busy it is.

The factory has just had £200,000 worth of extra orders.

This is the busiest they've been in years.

Right!

As you can see from that board, we're extremely busy.

That is a tenth of what I need you to do.

So I'm going to ask you all now for overtime.

This is the extra work the British factory has been hoping for,

but it's driving them to breaking point.

It's crazy.

We're really struggling to get the orders completed by Christmas.

In packing, Todd and Gary aren't sure

how long their employment will last for.

I hope we're not getting kept on just for the Christmas rush.

I hope we get kept on more, but we still don't know, do we?

They're not being offered a contract

until the factory knows how long the work will last.

-We don't know for sure, do we?

-No.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Be a good thing to know, going into Christmas, won't it?

If we have got the job full time.

With so many orders,

hanging on to staff at this time is crucial

if they're to compete with China.

Tony needs everyone buckling down and pulling together.

But they're not.

A fourth employee out of the original 17 has walked out,

and hot on the heels comes the fifth.

-Hiya, Mary.

-Good afternoon, Mr T.

I've heard someone's left. Is that right?

Yes, I'm afraid so. Gary Martin, Todd's brother.

-Really?

-Yeah, he went for his dinner and he's never come back.

I haven't seen him since.

Gary started with his brother Todd four and a half weeks ago.

He's starting a new job on Monday which is permanent.

He didn't even tell you?

He's not even been to tell me, I'm afraid.

Gary told me and the lads in there,

but I think he was scared of Mary, telling her, so he just went.

Could've let me know, couldn't he?

I'm a little bit angry now, you know. Not only has he bottled it himself

but he's actually let his brother do all his dirty work for him.

There are ways to go, but that's not the right way to go.

That's not the right way. It's a shame, really.

-No, no. Another one bites the dust, eh?

-Well, yeah.

Yet again, competition from other employers has hit Tony.

Gary's left for a job packing box files for £7.50 an hour,

well above the minimum wage.

I asked Mary, didn't I?

Said, "Mary, are we getting a permanent contract?"

She was like, "Oh, I don't know, I don't know."

"As long as there's work."

Yeah, as long as there's work, you'll have work.

But I basically took that as, "If work goes slack, you're gone."

Youse are gone. Yeah.

We're disposable.

The wages were rubbish.

If you've got a house and you're working for minimum wage,

then you are better off on the dole.

Tony's lost almost a third of all his new starters.

Unfinished orders are stacking up.

And Kirkby's plans to take on China are hanging by a thread.

Next time -

Can Kirkby pull it off?

This is the time when I'm going to find out whether

the factory has a good long-term future or not.

Orders mount up.

The only way that this is really going to work

is if we can get really good prices on here.

A huge American retailer makes an offer

but there's not enough capacity.

That's why I'm going grey!

Tony takes Joanne and Sharon to China.

-Ni hao.

-Hello.

What can they learn from the Asian tiger?

-Every factory we've gone past is textiles.

-How can you...?

-We've not got a chance.

-How can we compete with all these factories?

Sophie's not sure she's picked the right career.

My nail varnish has been ripped off by all the fabrics today.

And, in a race between the two countries,

which will come out faster, cheaper

and better than the other?

Let's see what the numbers say when it's all done.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd