news 7 Listen to Angela


Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany has a proven answer to attracting talented recruits into the manufacturing and engineering sectors, writes Jason Mitchell, partner at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, who has a particular interest in technology and manufacturing


If implemented here it could help to plug the skills gap in our industry and reduce the number of unemployed 16-24 year olds.


Germany’s ‘dual system’ of classroom and work-based learning could go a long way to regenerating our manufacturing and engineering sectors, and prevent a lost generation of youth through unemployment in Britain.


One of the keys to Angela Merkel’s strategy is the importance placed by German secondary schools on mixing academic study with shop-floor work experience to encourage talented school leavers to enter industry, and take up other vocational careers.


This dual strand to education, along with a dynamic apprenticeship system, should be a model for the UK. In the UK, apprenticeships are entered into after secondary or tertiary education and not always with a long-term career path in mind.


Although there are now moves to strengthen the vocational qualification regime for 16-19 year olds, sadly, any semblance of a dual approach in secondary schools in the UK was shattered in January 2012 when Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, ordered 96% of GCSE-equivalent vocational qualifications to be stripped from school league tables, following recommendations made in the Wolf report. Since then 60% of secondary schools are reported to be either planning to cut provision of vocational qualifications or have already done so.


Academic bias in Britain leads schools to focus the brightest and best to head off to university to obtain a degree in an academic subject, which is often a precursor to a career in a service industry.


Indeed, in a


series of meetings recently in the Thames Valley, following up on the MHA Manufacturing and Engineering Survey, the lack of practical engineering


BRDC confirms Silverstone development deal with MEPC


The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) has completed a transaction with British commercial property company MEPC, which has taken a 999- year lease on the existing Silverstone Industrial Estate and the development land around the outside of the circuit, on which planning permission has been granted. This agreement does not include the management or development of Silverstone Circuit itself.


MEPC is owned by the BT Pension Scheme, the UK’s largest corporate pension scheme, which also owns Hermes Fund Managers. Importantly, MEPC is a long-term investor, which understands about the creation, development and ongoing management of large business estates, meaning that it has an alignment of interest with the BRDC and its vision for the future of Silverstone.


MEPC has paid £32 million for the long-term lease. This payment has allowed the BRDC to pay off its long and short-term loans from Lloyds Banking Group and Northamptonshire County Council, to whom the BRDC is grateful for support.


Stuart Rolt, BRDC chairman, said: “Following major improvements to Silverstone, including significant investment in the Grand Prix Circuit and building of The Wing, the BRDC board was given a mandate three years


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2013


ago to attract suitable partners to invest in Silverstone and help realise the full potential of its 760-acre estate. Over three years the board has given consideration to a number of offers from credible parties and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with MEPC, which was selected on the grounds of its financial standing, reputation, the quality of the developments it has undertaken – and continues to own – and the price it was prepared to pay.”


Chris Taylor, chairman of MEPC, said: “As a long-term investor we are delighted to have secured this opportunity to create a large, commanding commercial estate with a key technology driver which will benefit hugely from its location, infrastructure and association with the home of world motor racing at Silverstone. The MEPC platform continues to demonstrate its ability to develop, manage and add value across its portfolio of major business estates in an innovative manner with a conviction to understand the needs of its occupiers as the key to its success.”


The agreement with MEPC does not incorporate the development or management of the circuit itself. The BRDC has agreed terms with a suitable partner to further develop and invest in the circuit and circuit-related facilities.


Slough office market picks up


According to statistics from national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), Slough’s office market is seeing signs of improvement. This follows the sale of 10 buildings this year, totalling marginally less than 220,000 sq ft, which has dramatically reduced Slough’s total office market stock.


Richard Duncan, LSH’s Slough office agency expert, said: “This year has seen a new phase of investment in Slough. There has been a significant increase in purchasers seeking to acquire low-grade office stock (with vacant possession) for alternative uses. This indicates that these buildings were effectively obsolete for their original use as office buildings and investors or alternative occupiers were able to benefit from the resultant reduction in capital values. This has resulted in a much-needed reduction in low-quality office stock in Slough.


“The wave of investment is in part due to the Government’s change in legislation to the Development Rights Bill, which took place in May 2013, and has relaxed the rules regarding conversion of offices to alternative uses, including residential property.”


Office availability in Slough currently stands at 1.05 million sq ft (approximately 31% of the total office stock on the Slough market). This is a significant drop from 2012, where levels were at 1.28 million sq ft.


www.businessmag.co.uk


skills at a high level was one of the themes businesses cited as a potential restriction to growth and succession.


As a result, our engineering and manufacturing sectors continue to struggle with a lack of talented candidates at all levels – and this undermines the UK Government’s stated aim of rebalancing our economy. Perhaps we need to listen to chancellor Merkel.


Details: Jason Mitchell 0118-9503895 www.macintyrehudson.co.uk


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