Government’s Industrial Strategy: Tech Sector Reacts To Theresa May’s Plan
TECH VIEW: Theresa May has laid out the government’s industrial strategy, but what does the tech industry think?
Tudor Aw, head of tech sector at KPMG UK
“In a post-Brexit era, it is crucial that the UK tech sector is front and centre of the Government’s new industrial policy. I am therefore delighted to see that key areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, Smart Energy and 5G have been identified as areas that will underpin the Government’s approach. The hope is that this is just the start and we will see other future disruptive technologies such as Nano technology, autonomous vehicles and IoT get similar focus and funding.
“As has been long recognised, to be successful in tech, we desperately need to upskill our workforce in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects and to see investment in these skills as well as in science, R&D and innovation is hugely promising.”
Marc Waters, MD for UK and Ireland, HPE
“HPE welcomes the publication of the Industrial Strategy Green Paper and the focus being placed on digital technology and the development of a modern industrial strategy.
“The digital economy is creating a world where everything computes – from secure data centres to mobile devices and the ‘internet of things’ – and we welcome the support and investment by the government to encourage our businesses in the UK to realise the benefits from these new technologies.”
Rob Lamb, Cloud Business Director UK&I, Dell EMC
“To date, investing in STEM and digital skills has not been a focus for UK businesses in the industrials sector. Engineering and manufacturing organisations need to keep up with the pace of innovation, and make IT part of their business strategy, not just a function of it.
“It’s important for organisations to foster talent within their workforce to ensure that their teams feel valued within the business. They also need to modernise their IT infrastructure to free up IT professionals to innovate and promote the brand of ‘new IT’ in their organisation so that it’s an aspirational function, with clear career progression and opportunity.
“With the rise of technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence, industry can no longer afford to ignore the skills gap. Having the skills in place to make use of this technology and data will be fundamental to the next stage of economic development and the transformation of all business and industry sectors. However, the Government’s Industrial Strategy must consider how to spread the benefits of technology across the whole of the country through the cross-pollination of data.
“We need to be able to create such links between traditional organisations and new innovators, fostering clusters and collaborative communities where problem solvers encounter problems and are able to create something new. Technical education, big data and knowledge sharing is going to be vital to the success of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy.”
