Author Archives: HM Government

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns is to call on Welsh manufacturing businesses to maintain their competitive edge and keep firing on all cylinders, as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

Mr Cairns will deliver a keynote speech to firms at this evening’s annual EEF dinner (26 October), where he is expected to outline plans to address Wales’ low productivity rate, through the UK-wide Industrial Strategy, which calls on Welsh firms to be at the forefront of innovation and export trade, so that prosperity is shared across the country.

Wales currently benefits from its economy’s manufacturing base, which employs around 150,000 people and is made up of over 5,000 companies, 97% of which are SMEs. But Wales is the least productive region in the UK, with productivity only 80.5% of the UK average.

The Secretary of State for Wales is expected to say:

If we want to stimulate every part of our economy, then we need to create the right conditions for generating ideas and innovation – we need to foster entrepreneurship.

Wales has the advantage of a strong innovation base – be that compound semi-conductors in Cardiff, agri-tech in Aberystwyth, or advanced manufacturing in Deeside.

The UK Government will invest an additional £4.7 billion by 2020-21 in research and development funding and create a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to help the UK capitalise on its strengths in science and innovation in manufacturing.

Mr Cairns will also say:

We know Wales has huge potential when it comes to trade and investment, as there are currently more than 3,800 businesses in Wales that export.

I’d like to see businesses in Wales taking advantage of the world-class support on offer from the UK Government and Welsh Government so that Wales and the wider UK is the best place in the world to do business.

Additional information:

• The UK Government has announced an additional £4.7 billion by 2020-21 in research and development funding and created a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to help the UK capitalise on its strengths in science and innovation in manufacturing.

• There are currently more than 3,800 businesses in Wales that export, with a combined value of £13billion in the first quarter of 2017. Wales is also an attractive place for inward investment, with latest figures showing that 85 foreign direct investment projects were secured in Wales, creating 2,581 new jobs and safeguarding almost 9,000 more.

• The Secretary of State for Wales has recently written to over 26,000 Welsh businesses identified as potential exporters including a copy to the Wales Export Guide. The Wales specific guide sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. You can read the guide online here.

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• Up to £15m funding over three years for New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE)
• NMiTE will train up the next generation of engineers, providing the skills that employers need
• All courses co-created with employers, with 6-12 month integrated work placements

Universities Minister Jo Johnson today announced funding of up to £15 million to support the establishment of a new higher education provider specialising in high-quality engineering courses.

The New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE) aims to become the first new ‘greenfield’ university in the UK for 30 years, addressing the growing need for engineering talent in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and cyber-security.

NMiTE is taking a radical approach to training the next generation of engineers, including having a 50:50 gender balance target, 6 – 12 month integrated work placements, and recruiting graduates from non-traditional backgrounds. It will also offer accelerated degrees, meaning students can complete their degrees in two years.

The funding, which relies on the project meeting a set of milestones and criteria, will be used to develop the faculty, campus and curriculum, creating a new institution to draw talent to Hereford from the UK and beyond. NMiTE will increase the number of engineering graduates and professionals, addressing a vital skills gap in the economy.

It will work closely with University of Warwick and employers including QinetiQ and Heineken on the design of the curriculum, producing graduates who are ready for the demands of the job market.

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said:

New innovative higher education providers such as NMiTE will play an important part in educating the next generation of much-needed engineers, providing the skills and talent that employers need.

Our reforms are about giving all young people access to university and an increasingly diverse market to choose from. This will ensure a steady stream of highly-skilled graduates into the workplace, meeting the needs of business and boosting the British economy.

Today’s announcement builds on plans set out in the government’s modern Industrial Strategy which aims to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country.

Engineering graduate supply currently falls significantly short of demand. Engineering UK estimates a shortfall of at least 20,000 annually.

NMiTE will take its first cohort of students in September 2020, with development cohorts in 2018 and 2019. Some features include:

• Hands-on project based learning with no lectures – classes will be delivered by teaching professors and practitioners;
• Courses co-created with employers, with mandatory work placements of 6-12 months before graduation;
• Emphasis on enhancing pathways for women with a 50:50 gender balance target, boosting the number of female engineering graduates;
• An aim to support 25% of its student intake with bursaries and scholarships to support diversity and social mobility; and
• A commitment to recruiting from non-traditional backgrounds – e.g. higher level apprentices, armed service leavers.

This follows the introduction of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which aims to drive up quality and competition in higher education by making it easier for high-quality institutions to enter the market.

The government has also already set out a series of reforms to technical education, backed by an investment of more than £500 million, to ensure young people receive the training they need to take on the high-paid, high-skilled jobs of the future.

Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, first called for a university there in 2009. He said:

This may well be the most significant development for Herefordshire since they built Hereford Cathedral. Economically, socially, demographically, I believe it will be transformative for the county. But in its vision, innovation and energy, it will also be transformative for tech and engineering education in the UK.

Founding President and Chief Executive Professor Janusz Kozinski said:

With this terrific investment from the Government we are now ready for lift-off. We will be totally reimagining and redesigning the higher education experience for the young people who will create Britain’s future.

If Britain is to lead the next industrial revolution, driven by artificial intelligence, driverless cars and 4D printing, we need to educate young people to be pioneers and creators. We need to give them the confidence to think beyond their textbooks, the freedom to be daring, and the tenacity to turn ideas into new products, new companies and even entirely new industries.

The future of higher education for engineers is arriving very soon, in Hereford.

Toby Kinnaird, MD of Barrs Court Engineering in Hereford, said:

The area is dominated by larger SMEs, many of which are key links in national and international supply chains. The university will be key to upskilling the local and regional workforce, boosting productivity and enabling many companies to innovate faster and compete globally.

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The visit took place during Black History Month, a nationwide celebration of black history, arts and culture held every October.

Sir Michael Fallon met the unit’s engagement team, who have been specifically set up to build links with minority communities across London, and congratulated the Royal Navy’s longest serving female reservist Chief Petty Officer Evadne Gordon who joined 40 years ago and whose family moved from Jamaica to the UK in the 1950s.

The visit included a meeting with Commander Richmal Hardinge, HMS President’s second ever female Commanding Officer, and a chance to speak to a group of Sea Cadets, following this month’s approval of 31 new cadet units in state schools, five of which are in London and the South East.

The Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, said:

We are working hard to ensure the Armed Forces, like our cadets, better represent the society they serve but there is still much more to do. We want more sailors, soldiers and airmen to come from minority and ethnic communities. More diverse armed forces are a stronger armed forces; that has to start amongst the junior ranks and work all the way up to chief of the defence staff.

Sir Michael Fallon congratulated Chief Petty Officer Evadne Gordon for becoming the longest serving female member of the Royal Naval Reserves.

The Armed Forces have committed to ensuring that at least 10 per cent of all new recruits come from minority and ethnic communities by 2020, with intake levels currently at 7.2 per cent.

To achieve this a set of networks have been established within the Armed Forces, which is part of the diversity and inclusion strategy.

The Defence Secretary spoke to members of the Sea Cadets at HMS President

In June the Defence Secretary attended the unveiling of the first ever memorial to African and Caribbean servicemen and women during the First and Second World Wars.

15,000 soldiers from the West Indies Regiment saw action in France, Palestine, Egypt and Italy during the First World War – 2,500 of them were killed or wounded. These brave men from the West Indies won 81 medals for bravery, whilst 49 were mentioned in despatches.

55,000 men from Africa fought for the British during the First World War and hundreds of thousands of others carried out vital roles. They came from Nigeria, the Gambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya and Ghana. It is estimated that 10,000 Africans were killed. African troops were awarded 166 decorations for bravery.

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