Government launches Make it in Great Britain campaign12 December 2011

Business Secretary Vince Cable and Business Minister Mark Prisk have formally launched the Make it in Great Britain campaign, which aims to transform outdated views of UK manufacturing and dispel the myth that Britain 'doesn't make anything anymore'.

Senior traders such as Joe Greenwell from Ford of Britain, William Butler-Adams from Brompton Bicycles and Michael Ryan from Bombardier Aerospace are behind the campaign. They will act as the first 'industry champions', taking formal roles as part of the campaign and supporting its work.

Both Greenwell and Butler-Adams will join Mark Prisk to give keynotes at the 2012 Manufacturing Summit on the 7th March, an event created in partnership with Engineering The Future, the IET, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the ERA Foundation and Findlay Media.

The Make it in Great Britain campaign will culminate in an exhibition celebrating the best of British manufacturing, which will be held at the Science Museum during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The exhibition aims to highlight the successes of the manufacturing sector, show the true face of British manufacturing and encourage young people to consider a career in the industry. It will run from 24 July to 9 September 2012.

"Manufacturing is our most exportable sector and is at the heart of our long term economic vision," said Cable. "We have outstanding manufacturing companies, both large and small, and today I want to call on them to join us in being part of the Make it in Great Britain campaign."

Prisk also announced that the campaign will be looking to recruit 30 rising stars of manufacturing under the age of 30 to inspire young people with their own experiences.

He commented: "Historic British innovations such as Stephenson's Rocket have been inspiring young people to be engineers for generations. But we, along with industry want to show off the best, most innovative examples of British manufacturing as it is today.

"The modern reality is much more exciting than people may believe and the feedback from our existing See Inside Manufacturing initiative bears that out. I want that reality to inspire our young people to be our inventors, engineers and technicians of the future."

Those wishing to exhibit their product or process at the exhibition should complete an online form at http://www.bis.gov.uk/makeitingreatbritain and explain what the exhibit is and how it meets the key objectives of the campaign.

The deadline for completed Expression of Interests is midday on the 6th of January 2012. The closing date for completed submissions is 31 January 2012.

Author
Laura Hopperton

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