Jobs and wealth are still leaving Britain because we lack the skills to cash in on bright ideas, Oxford's enterprise festival, Venturefest 2000, was told.
Dr Andrew Rickman, chief executive of Oxfordshire's Business of the Year Bookham Technology, said: "We have the research and development skills and the manufacturing skills in the UK. The skills shortage seems to be in taking expertise from the laboratory into manufacturing." He was the keynote speaker at Venturefest 2000, which aims to push Oxford ahead of Cambridge to become the Silicon Spires of the UK.
He described the growth of his company, set up ten years ago using specialist facilities at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Since Christmas, Bookham has expanded its workforce from 225 to 580. He said the enterprise climate had improved dramatically since he started his company. "The success of Venturefest 2000 is a sign that the enterprise culture in this part of the world is growing apace," he said.
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