Retaining Engineering Teams Tops the Agenda for UK Businesses

UK engineering and technology companies risk falling behind in the global market if they cannot train and retain their engineers and technicians.

Leading UK engineering and technology firms, with a combined multi-million pound spend on training and development, will assemble at the IEE ’Investing in Technical Teams’ forum on 4 November 2004 at IEE Savoy Place, London.

Over 130 engineering employers and training providers will attend to hear the keynote speech by Sir John Chisholm, QinetiQ’s Chief Executive, and discuss improving tactics for attracting and retaining the best technical talent available. They will also look at ways for developing their skills that will prove competitive in a global market.

Employers increasingly recognise that training technical teams is an investment in their corporate competitive edge, says Sir John Chisholm. At QinetiQ we put real emphasis on innovation and developing the skills to deliver this.

Moreover, the challenge today is increasingly to develop professionally competent and competitive technical teams, not simply individual talent. This requires an even higher level of investment, expertise and perspective, says Chisholm.

As part of the IEE’s commitment to the development and registration of professional engineers, it aims to set assessment standards for individuals, employers and training organisations which encourage best practices and lead to an optimum return for all three parties. The IEE’s accreditation service sets out to establish whether an employer’s professional development scheme meets the requirements for engineers to be become professionally registered. The professional registration standard, known as UK SPEC, was primarily set up to meet the needs of employers, and industry has welcomed the flexibility that standard affords. In particular, it provides a route for developing senior engineering staff of the future and develops critically important engineering capabilities and secures the continued well-being of the organisation. For more details about the scheme and the ’Investing in Technical Teams event, visit: