David Cameron: Q&A

WM: How would you feel if Nancy, Arthur or Florence was to turn around one day and say: "Dad, I want to be an engineer"? David Cameron: "I would be delighted. I want young people to see engineering for the exciting, dynamic profession it is, because I think that in many ways, engineers are the ones who take society forward, creating the technologies and the structures which carry us into new possibilities and new worlds." What's your favourite piece of British engineering and why? Cameron: "Clifton Suspension Bridge - it is both beautiful and functional." What were you like at STEM subjects at school? Cameron: "I was OK at maths - not so great at physics and chemistry." Many of our readers have only got onto an engineering apprenticeship by chance or through the advice of a family member working in engineering- why is vocational study so poorly promoted within our schools and what are you doing to fight the university bias? Cameron: "I want us to raise our ambitions as a country when it comes to this area and to have as a new norm the idea that in school, everybody either takes that path on to university, or takes that path on to an apprenticeship. You should be doing one or the other. We shouldn't be saying that it's okay for people somehow to leave school at 16 without seeing a really clear path, either an apprenticeship to get you those great skills and training, that can then lead on to a degree as well, or to stay on at school and consider a university degree. "I still don't think we are getting it right in school in terms of explaining to young people what their career options are. I don't blame teachers for this, most teachers went to school, they did their A-levels and then they went to university. They are very familiar with that path, but I don't think we do enough to say to young people that you can get an apprenticeship, that there are earning and learning options aside from the A-level and university option, and I think we need to do better at that. I think businesses can help us do that by getting into schools and telling young people early on what the options are. "I also hope that initiatives like the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, launched in 2011 to celebrate outstanding advances in engineering, will help to inspire and excite young people about engineering and the incredible feats can be achieved as a result of it." How confident are you that someone studying an engineering apprenticeship/degree now is going to have the opportunity to build a successful and sustainable career in the UK over the next 30 years? Cameron: "Very confident. We are one of the world's largest manufacturers and manufacturing contributes around £150bn per year to UK economy. Engineers also contribute widely to the economy in all sectors as improvements are driven by the adoption of new technology. "Changes in the international economy clearly mean an increase in both competition and opportunities from global markets. This Government is determined to help UK businesses grow and compete in the global race, which is why we have set out our Industrial Strategy, covering sectors such as aerospace and agricultural technologies. This is about setting out a long-term, whole of government approach to how we support business and about giving confidence now for investment and growth." Engineering/manufacturing has enjoyed a far higher profile among politicians since the financial crash of 2008- what assurances can you give us that the commitment is genuine long-term and not just a piece of opportunism? Cameron: "British engineering and innovation are a part of our history that we should be very proud of and our engineering excellence continues to change the world that we live in for the better. For too long Britain's economy has been over-reliant on consumer debt and financial services. This government is committed to rebalancing the economy so that Britain makes things again and I believe that high-skilled, high-value manufacturing and engineering should be a central part of our long term future." You recently announced a new scheme to attract 100,000 engineering technicians- how will the scheme work? Cameron: "This multi-million pound initiative is a national drive to encourage young people to sign up to an engineering apprenticeship. The aim is to create 100,000 registered Engineering Technicians by 2018, by giving them structured on-the-job training built upon a recognised academic qualification. "Working through new and established apprentice schemes, the initiative has been created by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and is backed by the Gatsby Foundation. "This Government is committed to ensuring more people can access high quality apprenticeships – which is why we are investing record amounts, with up to £1.5bn this year alone. Already, since 2010, we have passed the 500,000-mark of new apprenticeships." A lot of UK manufacturing success stories like Jaguar Land Rover, Airbus and Siemens are foreign owned- how important is this and could a lack of sovereign ownership compromise our ability to deliver sustainable manufacturing growth? Cameron: "As I say over and over again, the UK is open for business and I have personally taken trade missions to all of the fastest growing and biggest economies of the world making this point. I don't think foreign ownership compromises our ability to deliver sustainable manufacturing growth. Companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Airbus and Siemens are creating and safeguarding jobs in our country, training up apprenticeships and helping to rebalance the economy. "I am determined to make the UK the number one destination for inward investment. I am confident people will come here if we can demonstrate we've got low and competitive tax rates, we've got a well-trained workforce, we're not over-regulating and we're welcoming to business and industry." You've stated that apprenticeships are at the heart of your mission to rebuild the economy yet a vast number of engineering/manufacturing SMEs don't take apprentices on because of cost/lack of resource issues even though they have the work to justify doing so. To overcome this Catch 22 would the government consider extended financial incentives for firms to hire apprentices? Businesses say the current ones don't go far enough. "We want to make it as simple and rewarding as possible for employers to take on an apprentice and we want every apprenticeship to deliver high quality training which employers really value. "Through the Richard Review implementation this Government intends to build on the current success of apprenticeships by ensuring employers have more ownership of the programme and putting them fully in the driving seat in its design and delivery. We expect to publish an implementation plan in autumn 2013. "We have the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers which provides payments of £1,500 per apprentice to support employers with up to 1,000 employees taking on a new apprentice aged 16-24. And in the 2012 Autumn Statement, this Government increased the funds available to £340m to give employers the chance to access skills funding directly and design new skills provision to create the training schemes they need to grow their business." What do you make of the PM's comments. 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