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and Business Minister Mark Prisk have formally launched the Make it in Great Britain campaign, which aims to transform outdated views of UK manufacturing and dispel the myth that Britain ‘doesn’t make anything anymore’.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.
The exhibition will take place at the Science Museum and will run from 24 July to 9 September 2012.
The campaign builds on the already successful See Inside Manufacturing initiative and will celebrate the successes of the manufacturing sector and encourage young people to consider a career in the industry. There will also be a specific element, the Make it in Great Britain Challenge, focusing on new innovations yet to be brought to the market.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Manufacturing is our most exportable sector and is at the heart of our long term economic vision. 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.
“The Science Museum is home to some of the greatest technological advances in history, so what better place for us to exhibit the very best of British manufacturing as it stands today.”
Mark Prisk also announced that the campaign will be looking to recruit 30 rising stars of manufacturing under the age of 30, ‘30 under 30’, to inspire young people with their own experiences and support the campaign.
Manufacturing Minister Mark Prisk said: ”I’m very pleased that Joe Greenwell, William Butler-Adams and Michael Ryan, to name a few, have volunteered to be our first industry champions, I know they and their colleagues will bring great enthusiasm and drive to the campaign.
”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.”
Director of the Science Museum Ian Blatchford commented: “We’re incredibly excited to be hosting next year’s Make it in Great Britain Exhibition. The Science Museum and its world leading collections demonstrate some of the greatest engineering achievements of the last 200 years. We hope that as many people as possible visit the Exhibition, and see at first-hand how innovation in British manufacturing is still thriving today”
