Access to finance is still an issue for business – but the skills gap represents an equally contentious problem as firms seek to improve competitiveness and develop niche positions in global markets.

That was one of the issues occupying the minds of nine key figures within the Merseyside business scene in the latest Liverpool Daily Post round table series, this time on the manufacturing sector, sponsored by business advisers and accountants Grant Thornton.

Prof Murray Dalziel, director of the University of Liverpool Management School, highlighted the perceived shortage in relevant skills by insisting: "The UK is at a competitive disadvantage because we haven’t invested in the early stages at school."

He also believes the region could do more to retain the skills of around 75,000 students studying each year at Liverpool’s three universities as well as Edge Hill and Chester.

VIDEO: Lloyd Whiteley, chairman of Edward Billington

Lloyd Whiteley, chairman of Liverpool-based food and agriculture group Edward Billington, bemoaned a lack of suitably qualified graduates, saying: "We struggle to get high quality engineers.

"We can get people to run the factories, a lot from Eastern Europe, but if you want high quality engineers to run your line, we really struggle."

He added: "At universities, engineering has gone downhill. It is now making a comeback, but there’s a gap in people in their 20s to 30s."