An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

134A CHRONICLE OF THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL“Our work with the international engineering community went well and we held the ringdespite hostility from the major Institutions who felt that this was an unjustifiable use ofEngineering Council resources. Air fares, hosting delegations and so on certainly presented asubstantial burden to the Council but one that in my view was inescapable.”Interfacing with IndustryThe Industry AffiliatesThe Industry Affiliate (IA) scheme was rejuvenated during this period thanks largely to theefforts of new EngC staff member Clive Coker. In 1996 an Industry-Institution WG looked atthe scheme and the programmes of the Institutions’ Industry Affiliates, and decided againstcombining these but to revise the EngC scheme and re-launch it in 1997, the BEP havingprepared some promotional literature. The first ever Industry Affiliates’ Seminar was held,discussing the impact of SARTOR-3 on UK industry. Responding to an immediate need, a‘Millennium Date Change’ forum, held for the benefit of industry on 12 December 1997, wasopened by Barbara Roche MP and attended by 200 people. Also at the end of 1997, anadvertising campaign was mounted for new IAs. A “discussion club” meeting was now beingheld every month for IAs, and by 1998 the Industry Affiliates’ Club was meeting as a regularforum and met five times in this year and discussed topics such as skills shortages, Foresight,licensing of Competent Persons and a national minimum wage. A promotional booklet‘Industry Affiliate Scheme – a guide to services’ was published in December 1998.The IA scheme service, presentation and marketing had been improved during 1998 bylaunching a new logo and introducing a new dedicated web-site to improve communicationswith members. The Industry Links newsletter was re-launched earlier in the year andmembers were invited to contribute articles or advertise free of charge in this. In June the IAsand BCS jointly participated in a forum at which Francis Maude spoke on ‘EMU and theEuro and the implications for British Business’.Arrangements were set up by which the EngC’s Professional Affiliates were invited tomeetings of the Industrial Affiliates, so providing means of encouraging many usefulexchanges of ideas. The EngC was complimented by many of those attending for facilitatingthese discussions.Interfacing with the PublicPublic AffairsIn the period from 1996 to 1998 the EngC developed a deliberately higher profile in thepolitical arena. Each year, for example, Public Affairs staff, as well as EngC Directorsattended the three main political party conferences in the Autumn. From 1997 engineer MPswere regularly briefed [using ICE premises in Westminster] and in 1998 the EngC attendedthe TUC conference. Throughout this period the EngC responded to Government consultationdocuments and submitted evidence to Select Committees in collaboration with theInstitutions and Industry Affiliates. This could be interpreted as action taken within theEngC’s 1997 Memorandum of Understanding [Annex G] with the Government.In response to the Government’s 1996 White Paper on Competition, the EngC urged that theUK should exploit the potential for IT, electronics and communications to be able to remain© Engineering Council UK 2004