What is Britain Good At?

Generali

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Some funny looking universities on this list http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/employersandsponsors/pointsbasedsystem/registerofsponsorseducation


As you can see from this list, the total figures for tier iv visas do not necessarily translate into a fall in university attendance. Are there any specific figures showing such falls?

Pittman is on the list. The University of Typing!

The only figures I can show are out of date in terms of this discussion but back up Hamish's very interesting OP, that Higher Education is a strength for the UK. I guess we'll just have to wait and see regarding the impact current policy is having. I understand that the Government has tried to stop the whole dodgy language school thing which would appear, from your list, to impact upon Tier 4 visas.

As so often is the case, time will tell!

pqrdef

Generali wrote: »

I understand that the Government has tried to stop the whole dodgy language school thing which would appear, from your list, to impact upon Tier 4 visas.

The Tories' promise of a cap on immigration was aimed at Barking Man, complaining about Poles and Pakistanis taking all the jobs. I'm sure Barking Man will be delighted about the whole dodgy language school thing being fixed.

But the language school thing has no bearing on Post Study Work visas being abolished.

chewmylegoff

Post study work visas are a missed opportunity to help the economy I think. We definitely should be extending such visas to people such as the example rugged toast gave - an Indian graduate coming here to do an MEng. Should be fairly easy to come up with a list of areas where we have a skills shortage by consulting with employers, and then just create a list of post grad subjects (or undergrad as well) which get a PSW visa attached.

kabayiri

Niche engineering is an area we excel in.

High end audio products exemplify this. Sadly some of these are better known in Australia and Canada and the US and Japan than they are here.

Generali

pqrdef wrote: »

But the language school thing has no bearing on Post Study Work visas being abolished.

I agree. We'll see in about a year when the numbers are available whether this has had a major impact on education as an industry.

kabayiri wrote: »

Niche engineering is an area we excel in.

High end audio products exemplify this. Sadly some of these are better known in Australia and Canada and the US and Japan than they are here.

I used to sell this stuff about 20 years ago in a Hi-Fi shop which was great fun. I met one of the designers of the LS3/5A which was very interesting.

vivatifosi

I can't see the original chart because I'm still on my little device, but Formula One is definitely an area in which the UK has an advantage. Most of the teams are based here and Red Bull, which is headquartered overseas, has its engineering here. Most F1 teams are clustered in the same part of the country too, just south of the traditional vehicle engineering area of Birmingham and between the M1 and M40 corridors.

Itismehonest

vivatifosi wrote: »

I can't see the original chart because I'm still on my little device, but Formula One is definitely an area in which the UK has an advantage. Most of the teams are based here and Red Bull, which is headquartered overseas, has its engineering here. Most F1 teams are clustered in the same part of the country too, just south of the traditional vehicle engineering area of Birmingham and between the M1 and M40 corridors.

True but that is mainly an historical thing due to the knowledge gained & the knock-on effect of WW2,
In fact, it is still predominantly the aerodynamics side in which we lead the way. Hence why Ferrari have recently employed so many British-trained people.

In general I am sad to admit that I can think of very little that we are still good at & even less where we lead the world
Over recent years we have led in things like stage musicals (mainly thanks to Cameron M. & Andrew L-W) but we seem to have slipped well down the table on just about everything else.

Prudent

I think chocolate digestives are something we make exceptionally well Not sure how many we export though. I am generally impressed by the diversity in Scottish farming and the quality of food products here.

kabayiri

Generali wrote: »

...
I used to sell this stuff about 20 years ago in a Hi-Fi shop which was great fun. I met one of the designers of the LS3/5A which was very interesting.

There has been a resurgence in vinyl in recent years, contrasting with a significant decline in cd sales. The market is clearly polarising between the classic physical media vs the online download market.

People seem intent on arguing the technical pros and cons of each media, which is really missing the point.

Vinyl reflects a consumerist interest in the most emotive sense. Things like hunting out records in the store, or enjoying the sleeve artwork, or just the ritual of putting the needle down on the record -- it all harks back to an indulgent pleasure which we seem to miss in today's hectic world.

In a way, this is my wider genuine point. We used to make products which offered long service and gave good value that way. We understood the relationship between the local dealerships and their customers. Globalisation and the internet has stripped away all of this in favour of instant consumption from multinationals supplying generic product made in similar factories in China.

Maybe this is misplaced nostalgia.

I don't believe we can truly answer the question 'what is Britain good at' without a reappraisal of what we value. Do we really want to compete on the same basis as China? Would working a dozen hours a day, 6 days a week, make us a happier society if it meant we could afford that new telly every 18 months?

Itismehonest

kabayiri wrote: »

In a way, this is my wider genuine point. We used to make products which offered long service and gave good value that way. We understood the relationship between the local dealerships and their customers. Globalisation and the internet has stripped away all of this in favour of instant consumption from multinationals supplying generic product made in similar factories in China.

Maybe this is misplaced nostalgia.

I don't believe we can truly answer the question 'what is Britain good at' without a reappraisal of what we value. Do we really want to compete on the same basis as China? Would working a dozen hours a day, 6 days a week, make us a happier society if it meant we could afford that new telly every 18 months?

No, it's not misplaced nostalgia.
We're reaping the rewards of the way this country has gone, sadly.

Everyone wants high pay but nobody wants to pay high prices.

Britain can't compete in production of high quality products & pay higher wages, so the sort of companies you speak of have either disappeared or are supplying markets willing to pay what it actually costs to provide those goods or services.

That leaves the majority of us with poorer quality goods & services often produced overseas where wages are, by comparison, pitiful.

As consumers we ultimately make the choices.
In most cases it's the choices we have made & continue to make that have changed the face of British companies.