Sir James is
ploughing £15million over the next five years into the Dyson Institute
of Technology as he looks to double his engineering workforce to 6,000
by 2020.
He told the Press Association that the
private sector had a duty to help plug the engineering skills gap
because the UK needed 10 times as many engineers as it did 10 years ago.
"We
are competing globally with Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It's
all the major technology nations and we have got to be better than
them," he said.
A dearth of
skilled engineers is seen throughout developed economies, Sir James
said, with Asian nations outstripping the west when it came to the
number of new graduates in the field.
"[The shortage of engineers is] a problem in America and Europe and has started to become a problem in Japan.
"It
seems that the fast growing economies or emerging nations really
recognise the value of engineering, but when you reach security there is
less interest in what makes you successful."
The Dyson
Institute of Technology - which will be based at Dyson's campus in
Wiltshire - will take its first 25 students in September next year.
As
part of the course, students will not pay any fees, be handed a salary
and work alongside Dyson engineers on up-coming products.
Sir
James said the idea of launching the university came after he visited
the Government to "moan about the lack of engineers". He was advised to
take matters into his own hands.
The degrees
will initially be awarded by Warwick University, with Dyson applying for
powers from the Department of Education to create a full-fledged
university.
But the Dyson
Institute of Technology will only gain university status if proposals in
a Government White Paper - Success as a Knowledge Economy - make their
way into law.
Speaking about the impact on the
UK economy from the fallout of the EU referendum vote, Brexit-backing
Sir James said the pound had been "talked down" and there was "no
reason" for it to fall.
He said there were no plans to bring the firm's Malaysian manufacturing operation back to the UK following sterling's slump.
But he said he would consider setting up a British manufacturing operation in the future if it was "the right thing to do".
On automation,
Sir James said people were wrong to be concerned about the impact on
employment from the rise of sophisticated robots.
"A lot more of our production is fully automated, but people are needed for other things," he said.
"We don't need to worry about automation or robots at all. It increases the number of more interesting jobs for people."
Jo Johnson,
universities minister, said: "The Dyson Institute of Technology will not
only offer students the chance to study on cutting edge degree level
programmes, it will also play a vital role in educating the next
generation of much needed engineers.
"Our
reforms in the Higher Education and Research Bill, currently making its
way through Parliament, will ensure students can choose from a wider
range of high-quality specialist institutions that can seek their own
degree awarding powers and meet students' diverse needs; providing
employers with the skilled graduates that will drive future productivity
and the economic prosperity of our country."
0 Response to "Inventor Sir James Dyson helps plug skills gap with launch of new university"
Posting Komentar