An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

1985-1988: THE TOMBS YEARS 53Research and Development’ and to ‘A Strategy for the Science Base’ published by theAdvisory Board for the Research Council. The EngC believed that the national research anddevelopment programme should be relevant to the improvement of industrialcompetitiveness. The Annual Report 1987 stated: “Industrial investment in research anddevelopment needs to be encouraged as an essential on-going activity that needs to bestimulated, managed and controlled to yield rewards in the longer term”.In November 1987, at the third Industrial Forum, over 100 Directors and senior managersfrom 75 Industrial Affiliates discussed the topic of Engineering Technicians. The expansionin numbers continued and by the end of 1987 there were 174 Industrial Affiliates, somerecruited through the Engineering Council Regional Organisations (ECROs) that had beenestablished in 1984 as Engineering Regional Organisations (EROs), as we mentioned inChapter 2. Even so, the desire for further companies to become associated with the EngCinspired the publication in April 1988 of two related pamphlets: ‘Registration Matters! –Employers, Engineers and Technicians’ and ‘Why You Should Be an Industrial Affiliate’.The Industrial Affiliates, through their links with the EngC, were now becoming involved ina number of diverse projects being coordinated by the EngC for the benefit of Britishengineering and the engineering profession, completely in line with the way that MartinWiener’s book had inspired Dr Miller, the EngC’s Director General.The Industrial Affiliate scheme was not always looked upon favourably by the Institutionsbecause of a perceived overlap with their own interests. Subsequently some began their ownsimilar schemes - and one even convinced itself that it had invented the idea. Nevertheless,by mid-1988 the EngC had enrolled as Industrial Affilates all the major industrial companies,oil and chemical companies, the Nationalised industries and from the City of London the fourclearing banks. By the end of that year the number of Industrial Affiliates had risensubstantially and their subscriptions of around £500,000 represented some 16 to 17% of theCouncil’s total income.At an Industry Matters exhibition in May 1987 ‘The Technical Review’ EngC brochure [seeChapter 2] was distributed, describing the success of Technical Reviews carried out during1986 by about ten companies - part of a demonstration project run by EngC in conjunctionwith the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). A Technical Review was described, in thecontext of overall business and marketing plans, as a continuing appraisal of technicalobjectives and capabilities. It focused attention on the importance of engineering resourcesand their effective use throughout the processes of design, production and marketing. TheEngC sought ways by which Technical Reviews could be used by the DTI when assessinggrant support for industry.Also in 1987 the presentations for the Prince of Wales Award for Industrial Innovation andProduction were made by the Prince at Highgrove House; the ceremony was shown onBBC’s Tomorrow’s World. Practical support was provided by some venture capital firms tothe finalists and other highly-rated entrants to help their businesses into production (always along-term aim of the Award).‘Trade Up Your Technology’ was published in November 1987 as the fourth in the series ofblue booklets produced by the EngC’s Industry Directorate. The aim was to stimulatemanagers and investors to consider how collaboration with others could improve theircompanies’ technical capabilities, enhance their products and processes, and thus improvetheir competitiveness.© Engineering Council UK 2004