Inventor Sir James Dyson warns government over UK manufacturing

Inventor Sir James Dyson has called on the government to boost UK's technology industry, and warned of a looming shortfall of engineering graduates.

He told the Radio Times that "the glamour of web fads and video gaming" was getting priority over "tangible technology that we can export".

He warned this year would see a deficit of 60,000 engineering graduates.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said support for engineering was being given at "at all levels".

Sir James added, the government needed to do more to attract the brightest and best into engineering and science so that UK could compete internationally.

He said 26 per cent of engineering graduates did not go into engineering or technical professions and it was a bigger cause for worry that 85 per cent of all engineering and science postgraduates in UK universities came from outside the UK.

He added, nine in 10 left the UK after they finished their studies. He said, British knowledge was simply taken abroad.

He said engineering post-graduates needed to be encouraged with generous salaries, and a salary of £7,000 a year for postgraduate research was insulting.

Dyson, 65 is famous for the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner, and bladeless table fan that he invented.

The inventor's comments come despite his decision around 10 years ago to move production to Malaysia, causing a loss of 550 British jobs.

Responding to questions asking him to reconcile his remarks with his decision to shift manufacturing jobs abroad, he told Sky News all the firm's machines were still conceived and developed at its research and development headquarters in Wiltshire.

He said the company had more scientists and engineers there than ever before, over 750 Dyson scientists and engineers developing technology for the next 25 years.

He said last year, another 220 engineers joined the team, a third of them graduates, but the company needed more as it was expanding.

He said the future of UK depended on nurturing bright minds to develop technology for export, however there was a shortage of engineers in the UK and to help, UK needed to encourage more students into engineering subjects.

He said businesses full of bright minds could then develop patented technology for export.