Institution's response to the 2018 Autumn Budget statement

Peter Finegold, Head of Education Policy at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to the 2018 Budget:

The fourth industrial revolution will blur the boundary between academic knowledge and technical skills. The engineering and technology sectors support the Government’s continuing policies to raise the status of technical training and qualification.

“On this basis, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to make up to £450 million available so that apprenticeship levy paying employers can transfer up to 25% of their levy fund to companies in their supply chain. We also endorse the provision of Government funding to halve contributions smaller companies pay towards apprenticeship training from 10% to 5%.

“Engineering has a long tradition of high quality apprenticeships. We hope these two measures announced in the Budget will contribute to continued progress to produce a generation of highly trained and adaptable technical experts.”

Notes to Editors

• Contact the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Press Office on 020 7973 1261 or email media@imeche.org
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 120,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries. www.imeche.org.