An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

12A CHRONICLE OF THE ENGINEERING COUNCILwell known names within engineering; these included Dr (later Sir) John Horlock, ViceChancellor of the Open University who had been a member of the Finniston Committee,Ronald Hooker, Chairman of Henry Sykes Ltd., Joanna Kennedy a senior engineer at OveArup and Partners, Viscount Caldecott, President of the Fellowship of Engineering (whoplayed a key role in many of the early negotiations and developments), Sir David Plastow,Managing Director and Chief Executive of Vickers Ltd., Baroness Beryl Platt, Chairman ofthe Equal Opportunities Commission and others equally well known in their own fields. Onlyin 1983 did the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry appoint seven more members to theCouncil, bringing it up to its full complement. The engineering membership of the Councilwas not confined to just Chartered Engineers: in 1983 John Waters, Laboratory Manager ofWimpey’s Structures Laboratory, and in 1985 Norman Holland, UK Group StandardsManager at Philips Electronic & Associated Industries, both Technician Engineers, becameCouncil Members and served on many of its committees. The full first membership of theCouncil is listed in Annex B.Following their formal appointment in January 1982, the first meeting of the EngC’s Councilwas convened on 8 February. This meeting was held around the great boardroom table ofSTC at Aldwych with no paid staff yet appointed. Sir Monty Finniston was invited to themeeting as a courtesy and to assist in the launch. He stated that he was “proud to have beenincluded in this historic first meeting - though established in a different form to the Authoritythat the Finniston Committee had recommended”. He emphasised that the EngineeringCouncil Charter should be widely interpreted. “Teaching in schools, the pattern of educationin universities and colleges, recruitment to industry, the role of women, continuing education,the role and relationships of Government, employers and educationalists - and many otheraspects were implied.” Among those attending the meeting, acting as secretary, was GeorgeHeard of STC who gave a great deal of shrewd and generous help in establishing theadministrative function of the EngC.Work commenced on a first policy statement to reflect much of the Finniston vision of theEngC acting as an ‘engine for change’, especially in manufacturing industry and in the fieldsof engineering, education and training. The Policy Statement, formally published inSeptember 1982, also took account of the Royal Charter of November 1981and the NationalConference on Engineering Education and Training (NCEET) held earlier in 1982. It wasreproduced verbatim in the EngC’s First (1982) Annual Report and appears in a shortenedform in Annex C. Even after 20 years the Policy Statement has stood the test of timeremarkably well.£917,000 was given as a grant-in-aid from the Government for the EngC to fund its activitiesin 1982. It was made clear, however, that such Government funding was for a limited periodonly and that by mid-1985 the EngC would have to stand on its own financial feet. SeveralCouncil members were dismayed by this arrangement in comparison with the £40m budgetproposed by Finniston to initiate engineering projects and research.With the assistance of STC officials in the Spring of 1982 a search was made for suitablepremises for the EngC and the sixth floor at the nearby Canberra House, 10 Maltravers Streetwas leased.Sir Kenneth Corfield instituted an annual Strategy conference at which Council members anddirecting staff would spend a day and a half at Highgate House - a conference centre inNorthamptonshire. The first was held in September 1983 and thereafter proved an immensely© Engineering Council UK 2004