DIT to Dorset 2019

This month, on the 16th and 17th of October 2019, the Department for International Trade (DIT) visited Dorset to find out about the local Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing (AEM) sector.

Dorset LEP hosted the two day visit in which the DIT Investment Services Team (IST) had the chance to tour the RNLI in Poole, and Gama Aviation, a business located at Bournemouth Aviation Park in Christchurch. The event included presentations from BCP Council, Dorset Council, and established local AEM businesses who sang the praises of Dorset as an excellent place to live, work and expand.

Dorset LEP Board Member, and Director of SMI Consulting, John Sutcliffe attended the event and spoke about the importance of visits such as these.

DIT IST Sector Advisory Services Director, Terry Mankertz, explained how the interests of Dorset LEP and DIT align.

“We’ve all got the same aim, to attract foreign direct investment to the UK. The Dorset representatives want that to be in Dorset and absolutely where that is the right location we will fully support in driving companies to Dorset.

“Having an ecosystem here that we can plug foreign direct investors into is fantastic. We’ve got a message we can sell around the world. We’ve got companies here telling us that they have companies in their supply chains that they would love to have in Dorset. We can help facilitate that by working with those companies, Dorset LEP and other partners. I really look forward to doing that, particularly over the next 12 to 18 months – I think there’s a real opportunity here for us.”

DIT IST AEM Head of Sector, Janice Whittington, revealed the opportunities she sees for Dorset in AEM.

“The AEM inward investment opportunities I see for Dorset are in aviation, defence, agritech, aquaculture and maritime. The maritime sector is a fairly new sector and one that may be an enabler or specialism around a high potential opportunity for Dorset. I think there are lots of different opportunities that we can explore that have been bought to our attention on this visit.

“Areas of inward investment through AEM that can affect education, growth and economic development here in Dorset may be specialisms that can impact the next generation of skills. Thanks to the information we have been given by the Dorset LEP, we know that there will be a skills gap in the next 15 years that will need replacing. We need to address what skills are required and how that can be reflected in the education system. We need to look at what AEM can offer and I do believe that the DIT will be able to influence and inform AEM economic development in Dorset going forward.”

To learn more about the event please visit #AEMinDorset on Twitter where you can find photos and companies who attended.

For further information on AEM in Dorset visit our Invest in Dorset Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing web page where you can download a short guide to the sector.