Last week saw the publication of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, it’s plan to grow the UK economy and spread the benefits across the whole country. We haven’t had one as a country since the 1970s and it is a very helpful document, particularly as we plan the direction of travel for Staffordshire once we leave the EU. It is worth a read.
There are 10 pillars, all of which are inter-linked; the big idea is to link skills, infrastructure, research and development, investment and institutions in a joined up, mutually supporting network. All well and good, and my first question on reading it was who will pull all of this together at a local level? The reality is that, in the absence of any other organisation with the reach and capacity, it will fall to us in Staffordshire County Council to act as coordinators and leaders to bring the relevant people together. To give one example on skills, there is an aspiration to give technical vocational education and training the same status as academic study. This will require a cultural shift across the country, and we will play a role. As an engineer, I’m delighted to see this, and particularly here in Staffordshire, the crucible of the first Industrial Revolution.
We can already point to recent, current or planned projects in Staffordshire that could serve as ready-made case studies for the 10 pillars in the strategy. The Keele Deal is all about investing in science, research and innovation, while the Chancellor was at the county council’s Redhill Business Park last week as part of the Industrial Strategy launch, to see how General Electric is investing in new facilities in the town to produce world-leading energy systems. And there are plenty more examples that show Staffordshire is well placed to grab the opportunities the strategy presents.
The strategy also talks eloquently about cultivating world-leading sectors and providing the advice and setting the conditions for success. This is absolutely right, but we must do it more effectively than the “picking winners” of the 1960’s and the “national champions” that France has done in the past. Some of the new economy companies that we have in Staffordshire, focussed on the digital market, will, if we get it right, put Staffordshire at the heart of what people are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution.