Retaining and developing science
and technology skills
47. The Defence Technology Strategy (DTS), launched
by the MoD on 17 October 2006, states that
it is vital that Dstl retains and develops the S&T
skills necessary to fulfil its role. This will be done by a combination
of undertaking high quality research in-house, and in working
closely with MoD's research suppliers, particularly the universities.[77]
Since Dstl has a key role in helping ensure the MoD
has access to skilled scientists and engineers, including supporting
recruitment, it is particularly important that Dstl develops a
close and effective relationship with the universities.[78]
48. Dr Saunders told us that Dstl recruited about
100 graduates a year and had very good relationships with the
universities. Some of Dstl's younger staff went out and built
relationships with universities. Dstl was included in The Times
Top 100 Graduate Employers. She considered that Dstl had "got
a reasonably good profile as a recruiter of graduate scientists
and engineers" and told us that "at the bottom end of
the scale it is actually a very healthy picture; we are getting
some very good graduates".[79]
49. Dr Saunders told us that one of the challenges
for Dstl was retaining staff in their late 20s and early 30s and
"to hang on to enough of them at that point to work up to
replace the grey beards in the organisation". Staff in this
age bracket often had obtained chartership of their institute
and were considering possible career moves.[80]
To retain them, Dstl had introduced
an associate fellowship scheme which is for people
at that kind of stage in their career…. to have some time
and some money to, perhaps, work with a university or work with
the systems engineering innovation centre at Loughborough….
We think that would be quite an attractive proposition to help
people stay with us during that period.[81]
50. Dr Saunders said that Dstl had a technical career
path which allowed staff to get to the top of the organisation
by staying in technology. Dstl had a fellowship scheme and senior
fellows, who were paid the same as the management team and getting
to the top of the organisation. She said that Dstl wanted to encourage
more people to go this route as it was "the quality of our
scientists and engineers who are absolutely key to us being able
to do the kind of work we do".[82]
51. Dr Saunders told us that Dstl did not have an
ageing profile at the moment. However, changes in the retirement
law meant that technical staff could now choose to stay beyond
sixty years old and some were choosing to stay on full-time or
part-time.[83]
52. Dstl had a number of initiatives to develop relationships
with universities. There were "co-operative research centres",
whereby the MoD paid Dstl to work with universities as part of
Dstl's capability development activity. Some of the work was done
in the university, but it also allowed for some of Dstl's staff
to act as visiting professors or lecturers.[84]
We asked Dstl how it handled security issues that might arise
from working with universities. Dr Saunders told us that they
worked with universities which were used to working with Dstl.
Dstl was careful and "the kind of work we would do in a university
would tend to be some of the underpinning work that would not
be so sensitive".[85]
53. Dstl took on students from a wide variety of
backgrounds and, though it had noted recent physics department
closures, had not seen any problems so far in terms of a reduction
in the pool of graduates from which it recruited.[86]
The CSA told us that he was impressed by the quality of the graduates
being recruited by Dstl.[87]
One of his main tasks was working with Dstl to ensure "that
we are recruiting and growing, keeping the next generation of
deep specialists".[88]
54. For Dstl
to retain its position as a leading defence research organisation,
it needs to recruit high quality graduates and retain and develop
its current scientists and engineers. We are pleased to learn
that Dstl has a number of initiatives to achieve this and that
the MoD's Chief Scientific Adviser sees the recruitment and development
of the next generation of scientists as one of his main tasks.
While Dstl and the Chief Scientific Adviser were not unduly worried
about recent closures of university physics departments, we are
concerned that something which at the moment does not seem to
be causing a problem for Dstl may well in the future begin to
do so. We shall keep an eye on this important matter.
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