BAE Systems
A vital contributor to the UK
From our sponsor, BAE Systems
BAE Systems plays a critical role in ensuring the security of the United Kingdom. The company is the nation’s largest defence, aerospace and security company and delivers some of the largest and most technically advanced engineering and manufacturing projects in the world, keeping countries, their people and infrastructure secure.
By investing £4 billion in the 8,900 companies in its supply chain, BAE Systems makes a significant contribution to the UK’s national and regional economies, the technology sector and the fabric of UK society by providing unrivalled skills, training and opportunities for social mobility. The company creates highly skilled jobs, invests in research and development and generates significant exports and tax revenues. These benefits are widely spread around the UK. BAE Systems manages sites from Glasgow to HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, and hence directly contributes to local economies across most UK regions.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
PRODUCTIVITY AND SKILLS
TECHNOLOGY AND R&D
THE FUTURE
REACTION ENGINES LTD
The SABRE™ engine is designed to work like a conventional jet engine but at very high altitudes (more than 100,000 feet) and at very high speeds (Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound). It does so by making use of atmospheric oxygen (air-breathing), which other jet engines cannot. Once proven, the technology will reduce the amount of fuel that must be carried by the aircraft, making it potentially feasible for smaller vehicles to orbit the Earth, whilst taking off and landing like conventional aircraft.
In readiness for testing in 2020, Reaction Engines Ltd has begun construction of a new test facility where it plans to undertake the first ground based-demonstration of our SABRE™ engine.
PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH PEOPLE
The group studied highly productive workplaces and found common themes. Early research and conversations with organisations across the country revealed that poor management and lacklustre leadership are linked with poor productivity. The leaders in the most productive organisations had demonstrated ways to engage their workforces and unleash their energy and the group concluded that the techniques used could be adopted by other leaders, too. This formed the basis of Productivity Through People (PTP) —an initiative that offers a management approach that is teachable and aims to create a nation of brilliant business leaders.
PTP is a collaboration between industry and academia and offers a 12-month programme for leaders within SMEs wishing to ‘work on the business not in the business’. Having undertaken their benchmarking exercises, participants make a series of visits to industrial partners, including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Siemens, as well as participating in workshops and masterclasses.
Two pilot programmes have been created with Lancaster and Bath University Business Schools involving 42 delegates from 34 businesses that together have a turnover of £2.7 billion and a combined staff of 7,000 employees. Plans are in place to launch PTP in Scotland, Birmingham, London, Northern Ireland and Wales. By 2020, PTP is scheduled to run two programmes a year, from seven centres across the UK.
PTP is jointly funded by SMEs, the sponsoring businesses and Local Enterprise Partnerships.