Press releases
The Institution has joined forces with the rest of the UK engineering profession
to call on Government to ensure that its proposals for industrial strategy rewrite the rules of previous strategies and avoid short-termism and siloed policy making, in a new report published today. Emphasising the importance of long-term, cross-party collaboration, the report - Engineering an economy that works for all- argues that the strategy must enable UK industry, academia, government and investors to break out of their silos and work together as a system to achieve sustainable growth. This approach is critical, it says, if the UK is to maximize the opportunities and mitigate the risks presented by the UK’s departure from the EU.
Engineering an economy that works for all represents a collaboration of all 38 professional engineering organisations representing over 450,000 engineers, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and has benefited from an unprecedented level of engagement by the engineering community. The report distills evidence and opinion gathered through a series of 10 workshops across the UK and a survey of the profession that received nearly 1,300 responses.
The report calls for the strategy to embody an ambitious and bold long-term vision that harnesses the UK’s international reputation for engineering excellence and forges a new global identity for Britain as a top destination for inward investment and global talent. It also asks that the government broadens the strategy to address a wider range of interventions to develop skills, highlighting in particular the need for digital skills to support future industries and for urgent action to be taken in primary and secondary schools to address the shortage of teachers in STEM subjects. A much greater, targeted focus is needed on promoting STEM subjects and engineering careers to under-represented groups (including girls, people from BAME communities and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds) to fully unlock the talent potential in the UK.
Key recommendations include:
- Government should set a target of 3% of GDP for combined public and private research and development investment, creating a roadmap to achieving that goal.
- Government must continue to drive for world-class, secure and resilient digital connectivity and act urgently to promote digital skills, particularly across the public sector. Chief Data Officers should be appointed in all major UK cities or regions, and a digital strategy should be developed for all major infrastructure projects.
- Government needs to demonstrate a greater willingness to accept the risk of failure, or perceptions of it, in its innovation support, including in regard to the management of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Regulators should be encouraged to explain how risks for innovative technologies are being managed to allay public concerns.
- A UK-wide register of ‘national innovation assets’, which can serve as test-beds, demonstrators and focal points for skills development, should be compiled and promoted to both UK and international companies, to extend the geographical reach of innovation activities beyond current centres of excellence.
- Sensible and proportionate arrangements should be in place to retain and attract non-UK nationals who are essential to the UK’s success in engineering, research and innovation.
- Improving energy efficiency and resource productivity must be a priority, particularly in buildings and energy networks. A long-term, integrated, energy strategy should be developed that builds on all available low carbon forms of generation including CCS, nuclear power and heat networks.
- Deals with individual sectors should be subject to regular review, linked to a clear evaluation framework, and underpinned by a firm, long-term commitment from government to build investor and business confidence.
- Government should extend the measures proposed in the industrial strategy to primary and secondary schools, taking decisive action on teacher shortages in STEM subjects, broadening the definition of basic skills to include digital capabilities and including Design and Technology in the English Baccalaureate accountability measure.
- The Economy and Industrial Strategy Cabinet Committee should take responsibility for joining up the strategy across government, and ensuring its longevity.
Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
"A good industrial strategy will not make government intervention more likely, but it will make it more predictable - and that builds confidence and encourages business investment. The strategy must be long-term and sustained, with cross-party and whole government support, and should be an important part of all party manifestos as they approach the forthcoming general election.
"The industrial strategy is a critical platform to maintain and grow the UK’s prosperity as we prepare to leave the EU, but needs to extend beyond its current proposed scope into primary and secondary schools and continuing professional development to be truly successful. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to engage the public with the UK’s industrial and engineering strengths. Government should capitalise on this to take the opportunity to excite and inspire the public, especially young people, about the country's potential to develop and grow world-leading innovations and their own opportunity to be a part of the innovation process. It also provides renewed impetus to enable creative and productive collaboration between industry and academia to enhance economic growth.”
Read the full report: Engineering an economy that works for all