It is a message that its manufacturing and engineering manager Andy Wheatcroft has been hammering home at business meetings in the city.

His message is simple. Companies in Peterborough are doing business in a global economy and their competitors are not just in Cambridgeshire or other parts of the UK. They are across the world and, particularly in the so-called emerging economies of China and India.

Once renowned as pools of limitless low cost labour, these countries are now emerging as centres of highly-skilled workers driven by an intense aspiration to succeed.

The problems facing Peterborough though have been underlined by a new study from Cambridgeshire County Council, which shows the city has lower qualification levels than the English average.

The report, which was presented by the Peterborough Regional Economic Partnership to business leaders last week, states: "For Peterborough to reach national projected qualification levels for 2021 an additional 27,400 people would need to be educated to degree level or equivalent and 18,300 people would need to achieve additional qualifications beyond level one."

But there is an additional problem: the workforce is getting older. The study states that population growth is expected to be greatest among those aged over 65 with the number of people of working age expected to decline. This would mean effort must also be made to improve the skills of those already in the workforce.

Perkins' apprenticeship co-ordinator Sandy Robertson said: "We have experienced difficulties over the last few years getting applicants for our apprenticeship scheme.

"As a result we have had to raise our profile."

One idea was to invite the headteachers of local schools into the Perkins' factory to see how modern engineering operated.

Technical services manager Malc Storton said: "They were amazed at what we had to show them. We had many comments that they had no idea that engineering was like this."

Machine centre of excellence manager Tony Green said: "Long gone are the days of grimy, noisy factories where one person might do little more than just push a couple of buttons each day."

Instead, the factories are equipped with the very latest in sleek, ultra efficient and clean robotic engineering. Each machine is housed in its own fenced off section and once programmed, is left to get on with the job.

But it means that the skill levels of the men and women who tend to these machines has to be more extensive than in the past.

There are several ways of achieving this from widening the curriculum for the apprenticeships, time spent with the manufacturers that make machinery for Perkins to opportunities to continue their education after their apprenticeship.