SUSTAINING THE UNITED KINGDOM'S NAVAL DEFENCE INDUSTRY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UK NAVAL ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (UKNEST) FORUM

摘要

UK Naval Engineering, Science and Technology (UKNEST) is a collective of major UK naval engineering companies. Established in 2005, it aims to provide a forum for the UK's professional naval engineering, science and technology community to address issues of common concern; understanding specific professional development needs and giving a focal point for interaction with and influencing the wider government and maritime community. FutureNEST, the youth panel made up of young engineers in the professional development stage of their careers, augments UKNEST, this paper will discuss how young engineers have helped make an impact within the naval defence sector and the wider maritime community. UKNEST has actively been involved with the development of future young engineers by exposing the opportunities available in the Naval Defence Industry. It also has the aims to demonstrate to young people that a career in engineering is both worthwhile and rewarding, and actively solicits the skills of young engineers within the naval defence industry in order to achieve this. This paper will describe the history, structure and organisation of FutureNEST, showing how it has fostered links with governmental agencies, companies involved with naval defence, educational establishments and younger professionals. This paper will also present FutureNEST's achievements over the last three years and the impacts this has had. It will also illustrate the activities that FutureNEST, and the wider UKNEST, is currently involved with, and what this holds for the future of naval engineering, science and technology in the United Kingdom.