The Design Council, the national strategic body for design, today welcomed a Trade and Industry Committee report which describes design as ‘central’ to British manufacturing if it is to maintain its competitiveness in a globalised economy.
In the report, MPs call for a simpler skills system to meet changing manufacturing demand in the UK and draw attention to the need for higher level skills in this growing sector of the UK economy. This mirrors the design industry’s own view that ongoing UK competitiveness is reliant on the development of higher skills across business and industry.
Later this month, the design industry publishes‘High-Level Skills for Higher Value’, a plan that will inform Creative Blueprint: the Sector Skills Agreement to be presented to the government by Creative & Cultural Skills early in 2008. The plan recommends a 360 degree approach to skills development: improving the teaching and content of design courses in mainstream, secondary and higher education as well as improving design professional practice.
David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, said: ‘The ability to use and manage design effectively is central to the competitiveness and growth of successful UK businesses. That’s why our aim is not only to produce designers who are responsive to the needs of business and industry but also to create a UK workforce that appreciates the value that design can add.’
The UK design industry’s ambition to create educated buyers and advocates of design as well as excellent design practitioners links directly with Trade and Industry Committee chairman Peter Luff’s call for British manufacturing to put activities such as design at its heart. He sees this as essential if British-made products are to maintain their competitive edge in an increasingly challenging global market.
The report states: ‘Design, logistics, after-sales service and marketing are growing in importance as part of the total value of the product. This means that these activities, traditionally seen as part of the service sector, are becoming central to British manufacturing companies and to maintaining their competitiveness in a globalised economy.’
Visit the UK Design Skills website to download a copy of the report.
For more information please contact Saskia Sissons at the Design Council on 020 7420 5248, saskia.sissons@designcouncil.org.uk or Miles Fletcher at Creative and Cultural Skills on 020 7015 1812, miles.fletcher@ccskills.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
1. The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the vital role of design in making businesses more competitive and public services more effective. www.designcouncil.org.uk
2. The Trade and Industry Select Committee is appointed to examine on behalf of the House of Commons the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department of Trade and Industry and any associated public bodies. It carries out its work by taking evidence from relevant interests. The Committee’s report Better Skills for Manufacturing was published on 7 May 2007 and is available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtrdind.htm
3. The Design Industry Skills Development Plan is a comprehensive report on the status of skills development within the UK’s design industry. It will inform Creative & Cultural Skills’ ‘Creative Blueprint’, the Sector Skills Agreement to be presented to government early next year.
4. The Design Skills Advisory Panel is a group of 25 design industry experts convened by the Design Council and Creative & Cultural Skills to inform their employer-led skills strategy. Chaired by Jonathan Sands with David Worthington as Deputy Chair, it comprises representatives from across the UK design industry, including design businesses, freelance designers, in-house designers, design organisations and educators.
5. The Plan is the result of two years of consultation with and by the Design Skills Advisory Panel and will be available online next month. It targets design professionals and design students at various stages in their development, starting in schools, continuing in colleges and universities, and working through our professional bodies to provide ongoing professional development. To receive a copy of the report at this stage please contact: skills@designcouncil.org.uk
6. Creative & Cultural Skills is the UK Sector Skills Council for the creative and cultural industries, which include advertising, crafts, cultural heritage, design, music, performing, literary and visual arts. Like all Sector Skills Councils, Creative & Cultural Skills is employer-led and works to improve the education, training and skills available to the sector to ensure that the UK remains economically competitive. www.ccskills.org.uk