Combating Brain Drain

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31500, 14 October 1967, Page 25

Combating Brain Drain

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) LONDON, Oct. 12. Britain should avoid a “Berlin wall” mentality in trying to combat the brain drain, a Government report has recommended. It suggested a national policy of higher pay for talented young men and a campaign in North Americato recruit engineers, technologists and scientists for British industry.

The report by a working group of the Committee on Manpower Resources for Science and Technology said the brain drain would not be halted by attempting to restrict the activities of foreign recruiting agencies or curb their advertising.

This "Berlin Wall” mentality offered no answer, it said. Britain failed to recognise that her wealth lay in creative industries, and the report suggested that a joint Govern-ment-industry'combine should vigorously exploit national resources. America, Britain and Europe should exchange teams to study management attitudes to the employment of qualified manpower. Heavy Loss "Much of British industry is prone to regard the tech-nically-qualified man as essentially a backroom occupant whose advice may be sought but who is never in the true sense consulted,” the report said. There was a heavy and increasing loss of talented young scientists from Britain, and the report emphasised that the outflow of engineers and technologists had more than doubled in six years. The same figure for North America has multiplied by four times.

Emigration was estimated to have risen from 3200 (1900 engineers and 1300 scientists) in 1961 to 6200 (4200 engineers and 2000 scientists) in 1966. The net loss to Britain is put at about 1900 engineers and 800 scientist* between 1961 and last year. Universities should halt the trend of training scientists, towards academic achievement as an end in itself and should instead gear their education more towards the needs of manufacturing industry, the report said.