Memorandum 49
Submission from the Design Council
1. INTRODUCTION
The Design Council welcomes this opportunity
to respond to the House of Commons Committee on University, Innovation,
Science and Skills inquiry: After Leitch: Implementing skills
and training policy. This submission will focus on issues
relating to the roles of the Sector Skills Councils, the higher
education sector and industry bodies in developing design and
innovation skills that meet the growing needs of the wider economy.
Our views are drawn from the design industry's response
to issues highlighted the Leitch report, which are outlined in
a report on design sector skills development: High-level skills
for higher value[130],
and the Design Blueprint[131],
which forms the design industry section of the sector skills agreement
for the creative industries.
This work has shown that design employers perceive
that the fast changing needs of the industry are not adequately
catered for through design education in schools, colleges, universities
and the workplace.
The Leitch Review puts employer engagement and
a demand-led approach at the heart of skills development. The
UK design industry is relatively fragmented and heterogeneous,
consisting predominantly of small businesses[132],
where formal higher-level training and development is the exception
rather than the rule. By improving connections between industry
and design skills development, the UK will be better placed to
differentiate and add value to goods and services and stay ahead
in increasingly competitive global markets.
Design is a broad sector with many disciplines
practising across different industries. If the UK is to harness
the benefits of design as a driver of innovation and competitiveness
there needs to be greater knowledge sharing and co-ordination
between Sector Skills Councils, universities and industry networks.
2. DEMAND-LED
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Design is a potent force for innovation in manufacturing
and in our services sectors[133].
The UK design industry is the biggest in Europe with a total turnover
of £11.6 billion and an international reputation for quality
and value. However, the rest of the world is already catching
up fast. Developing economies like China and India are rapidly
developing their design and innovation capabilities to move up
the value chain- underlining the need for the UK to invest in
developing high-end creative design skills over the long term[134].
In the modern workplace designers are increasingly
expected to work alongside other specialists such as scientists,
engineers, social scientists, marketers and management consultants.
R&D activities in many businesses are increasingly structured
along multi-disciplinary lines, requiring designers to work in
teams with a stronger understanding of business and technical
issues in the development of innovative new products and services.
Multidisciplinary learning that puts design
students alongside business, science and technology students will
help develop vital creative skills and approaches to problem-solving
valued by employers and vital to our future prosperity and competitiveness.
Some universities are responding to increased
industry demands for multidisciplinary skills through the introduction
of a growing number of new centres and courses across England
that bring together design, science, technology and business studies,
such as Design London[135]—a
collaboration between Royal College of Art, Imperial College and
Tanaka Business School.
In the spirit of demand-led skills development
endorsed in the Leitch review the Design Council in partnership
with Creative & Cultural Skills conducted a two-year consultation
with industry to identify future skills needs and ensure that
the UK retains and builds on its world-class design capabilities.
The UK Design Industry Skills Development Plan, as detailed in
Design Blueprint was produced as a result of this consultation
and sets out practical and realistic steps to tackle the gaps
in design skills education and professional development from school
through to colleges, universities and the workplace.
The primary mechanism for the implementation
of the Design Blueprint is a new UK Design Skills Alliance which
will work to ensure that the UK is the future global centre for
excellence in design and professional development. Urgent priority
initiatives will include a Professional Practice Framework and
a programme of Continuous Professional Development. To achieve
its primary objective of increasing the value and profile of the
design industry by developing its professional skills, the Alliance
requires continued support from Government and real investment
from industry.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 Improve flexibility of funding support
for demand-led employer engagement
To allow faster responses by universities to
the industry, greater flexibility in funding schemes is needed—including
consideration of direct funding to industry bodies engaged in
collaboration with further and higher education institutions on
professional skills development.
3.2 Improve connections between universities
and the design industry's regional networks
Design bodies such as the DBA and D&AD have
strong regional networks which should be more effectively utilised
by universities to ensure greater dialogue and industry and employer
engagement regionally.
3.3 Improve collaboration between sector skills
councils and knowledge transfer
Design cuts across many different industry sectors
including engineering, construction, retail and manufacturing.
There needs to be greater collaboration and knowledge sharing
between different Sectors' Skills Councils to enhance their reach
and impact on the economy.
April 2008
130 http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/Design-Council/Files/System-Files/Download/ Back
131
http://www.ukdesignskills.org.uk/ Back
132
Design in Britain 2005 http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Research/Value-of-Design-Factfinder/ Back
133
DCMS (2008) Creative Britain: New talents for the New Economy Back
134
HM Treasury (2005) Cox Review of Creativity in Business Back
135
http://www.designlondon.net/ Back
| 
