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Lord Sainsbury of Turville

Young Engineer for Britain Awards
Lord Sainsbury of Turville

Holborn


Tuesday, September 17, 2002


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I am pleased to have been asked to present this award to this year's Young Engineer for Britain. The contribution that science and engineering makes to the UK economy is huge, and increasingly important, and we need a sustainable pool of skilled people to ensure that our status as one of the world's leading economies is maintained.

I am delighted to have seen these exciting projects. It makes me very optimistic about the future. The major advances taking place today in science and engineering mean that there will be many exciting jobs for engineers in the future. In areas such as aerospace, opto-electronics, mobile-telephony, satellite communications and IT, and in the longer term bio-engineering, nanotechnology and ?e? science, there is going to be a great need and many opportunities for creative and entrepreneurial young engineers. There are also many areas, such as the environment and energy, where we will not be able to meet the challenges we face as a society without a high level of engineering skills.

In today?s global economy, the economic future of this country, and the economic future for young people, are going to be in industries which rely on a high level of skills and innovation, and where in many cases a knowledge of science and technology and entrepreneurial skills will be at a premium. Today transport costs from one part of the world to another are often minimal. This means that we will not be able to compete in the future against developing countries like China, where the wages are a tenth of what they are in the UK, on the basis of low labour costs or low material costs, but only on the basis of our knowledge, skills and creativity.

That is why the Government has, as part of the Spending Review we announced in July, put £1¼ billion extra investment into science and engineering. This covers a wide range of areas from allocating £300m more to the Research Councils for additional research, to increased money to the universities for infrastructure, funds to raise the stipends of PhD students and investment in improving the laboratories of schools. This massive commitment of resources illustrates clearly, I believe, the importance that the Government attaches to scientific and engineering research and to increasing the supply of people with scientific and engineering, and entrepreneurial skills.

I would at this point like to say a few words directly to the young people here this evening. The Government also believes that it is important that when you choose which subjects you are going to at ?A? Level, what degree you are going to do at university, or what careers you are going to follow, you have the knowledge and experience to make the best choice from your point of view. That is why the Government has made a major investment in SETNET and the UK-wide network of 53 SETPoints and has set up the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Programme. In so doing we hope we are providing you with role models with whom you will be able to identify. We want you to meet young scientists and engineers with exciting and stimulating careers in industry and research so that you can see what opportunities exist for creative and entrepreneurial young scientists and engineers in the future. The Ambassadors will be able to tell you what it is like to work as a scientist or engineer in industry and universities, and answer questions that you have, as well as telling you of some of the exciting developments in science and engineering today.

I would also like to say a few words to the sponsors. I believe strongly that there are too many schemes, awards and competitions aimed at encouraging the young in school to take an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The result is fragmentation, ineffectiveness and excessive overheads. I very much welcome what you do. But equally I believe that by working together we can get much better leverage and value for money from the resources we put into the promotion of science and engineering.

Finally a word to the organisers of tonight's event. I wish to applaud the merger of Young Engineers for Britain with the Young Engineers Club structure. I know too that the combined organisation is actively working with other organisations, such as the Smallpeice and Arkwright Trusts, and I am delighted you are doing so.

There are going to be many exciting jobs for young scientists and engineers in the years ahead. Looking at the projects this evening, I am encouraged to think that we will have many creative and entrepreneurial young engineers to take up the challenge of those jobs, and I am, therefore, delighted to have been asked to give out the prizes tonight.

I am pleased to have been asked to present this award to this year's Young Engineer for Britain. The contribution that science and engineering makes to the UK economy is huge, and increasingly important, and we need a sustainable pool of skilled people to ensure that our status as one of the world's leading economies is maintained.

I am delighted to have seen these exciting projects. It makes me very optimistic about the future. The major advances taking place today in science and engineering mean that there will be many exciting jobs for engineers in the future. In areas such as aerospace, opto-electronics, mobile-telephony, satellite communications and IT, and in the longer term bio-engineering, nanotechnology and ?e? science, there is going to be a great need and many opportunities for creative and entrepreneurial young engineers. There are also many areas, such as the environment and energy, where we will not be able to meet the challenges we face as a society without a high level of engineering skills.

In today?s global economy, the economic future of this country, and the economic future for young people, are going to be in industries which rely on a high level of skills and innovation, and where in many cases a knowledge of science and technology and entrepreneurial skills will be at a premium. Today transport costs from one part of the world to another are often minimal. This means that we will not be able to compete in the future against developing countries like China, where the wages are a tenth of what they are in the UK, on the basis of low labour costs or low material costs, but only on the basis of our knowledge, skills and creativity.

That is why the Government has, as part of the Spending Review we announced in July, put £1¼ billion extra investment into science and engineering. This covers a wide range of areas from allocating £300m more to the Research Councils for additional research, to increased money to the universities for infrastructure, funds to raise the stipends of PhD students and investment in improving the laboratories of schools. This massive commitment of resources illustrates clearly, I believe, the importance that the Government attaches to scientific and engineering research and to increasing the supply of people with scientific and engineering, and entrepreneurial skills.

I would at this point like to say a few words directly to the young people here this evening. The Government also believes that it is important that when you choose which subjects you are going to at ?A? Level, what degree you are going to do at university, or what careers you are going to follow, you have the knowledge and experience to make the best choice from your point of view. That is why the Government has made a major investment in SETNET and the UK-wide network of 53 SETPoints and has set up the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Programme. In so doing we hope we are providing you with role models with whom you will be able to identify. We want you to meet young scientists and engineers with exciting and stimulating careers in industry and research so that you can see what opportunities exist for creative and entrepreneurial young scientists and engineers in the future. The Ambassadors will be able to tell you what it is like to work as a scientist or engineer in industry and universities, and answer questions that you have, as well as telling you of some of the exciting developments in science and engineering today.

I would also like to say a few words to the sponsors. I believe strongly that there are too many schemes, awards and competitions aimed at encouraging the young in school to take an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The result is fragmentation, ineffectiveness and excessive overheads. I very much welcome what you do. But equally I believe that by working together we can get much better leverage and value for money from the resources we put into the promotion of science and engineering.

Finally a word to the organisers of tonight's event. I wish to applaud the merger of Young Engineers for Britain with the Young Engineers Club structure. I know too that the combined organisation is actively working with other organisations, such as the Smallpeice and Arkwright Trusts, and I am delighted you are doing so.

There are going to be many exciting jobs for young scientists and engineers in the years ahead. Looking at the projects this evening, I am encouraged to think that we will have many creative and entrepreneurial young engineers to take up the challenge of those jobs, and I am, therefore, delighted to have been asked to give out the prizes tonight.

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