TCS delivers results for business, universities and graduates
TCS delivers results for business, universities and graduates
Keywords TCS, Education, Engineering, Technology transfer
"TCS is one of our best mechanisms for technology transfer and it continues to deliver significant benefits for the overwhelming majority of those who participate in it", comments Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the UK's Minister for Science and Innovation, in his Foreword to the TCS Annual Report."By helping businesses to gain access to the wealth of knowledge in our higher education institutions and other research-based organisations, and by using the skills of recent graduates, TCS is making a real contribution to the Government's policies on a number of fronts."
"The Government wants to see more small businesses benefit from the'industrial application' of research carried out in our world class science,engineering and design base and we want to see more collaboration between small businesses and academics", continues Lord Sainsbury. "The Government wants to see an increase in the number of graduates working in small and medium-sized businesses and more graduates benefiting from training that enhances their prospects for a successful career in business. TCS does all these things and more."
This government scheme that brings together academics with UK business is helping companies of all sizes to boost profits and create jobs. Figures released in the TCS Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2000 showed the tremendous boost this can give UK companies as well as the benefits for academics and graduates, or TCS Associates as they are called.
TCS (once known as the Teaching Company Scheme) is government funded and enables businesses of all types to access the wide range of expertise available in the UK knowledge base (higher education institutions and other research based organisations). Through TCS, partnerships known as TCS Programmes are formed between UK companies and knowledge base organisations. TCS Programmes focus on projects that are strategically important to companies and involve the recruitment of high calibre graduates (TCS Associates) by the knowledge base partner, a university for example, to work in the company on the strategic project for two years.
TCS Programmes are part-funded by government grants that contribute to the knowledge base partner's costs. The balance of costs is borne by the company.
The aims of each TCS Programme are to improve the competitiveness of the company partner, enhance the careers of the graduate and to increase the business relevance of the knowledge base partner.
The latest TCS Annual Report shows that for companies that participate in TCS, on average each TCS Associate's project results in:
One-off increase in profit before tax of £98,000 (with the highest reported increase being £500,000).
Annual increase in profit before tax of £138,000 (with the highest reported estimate being £3.5 million).
Investment in plant and machinery of £157,000.
A total of 3.5 new jobs created.
A total of 18.5 company staff trained.
For the universities and the other higher education institutions participating in TCS, benefits include further involvement with the company through research and undergraduate projects as well as the publication of papers in refereed journals and other media. In fact, the report reveals that around 78 per cent of TCS Programmes result in further co-operation between the company and the knowledge base partner. With recent changes in the guidelines for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), involvement with TCS Programmes will now be fully credited for the RAE 2001.
For graduates involved in TCS, the figures show that around 70 per cent are offered permanent jobs by the company at the end of the TCS Programme. The TCS Annual Report also reveals that a survey of ex-TCS Associates who had completed their TCS Programmes in 1996/7 found that:
98 per cent said that TCS had benefited their careers;
57 per cent were earning over £25,000;
61 per cent were affiliated to professional institutions.
At 31 March 2000 there were 703 "live" TCS Programmes. This number has since grown to 760 as TCS heads towards the 1,000 Programmes landmark which the Government wants it to hit before the end of 2001. Of the current programmes 54 per cent are with small businesses (employing less than 50 people), and 36 per cent were with medium-sized enterprises (employing 50 or more but less than 250).
Although TCS started out over 25 years ago as a training scheme for engineering graduates (the idea was akin to a teaching hospital, but for engineers) only 48 per cent of TCS Programmes are now about engineering technology, whilst 24 per cent of the projects are about information technology,19 per cent are science based, with a further 9 per cent using the social sciences as the knowledge being applied.
In terms of programme objective, 48 per cent were looking at improving product design, 26 per cent were helping manufacturing processes, 14 per cent were investigating management processes whilst 12 per cent were involved with other aspects of company operation, including marketing.
The total value of grants committed to new TCS Programmes in 1999/2000 was approximately £23 million. TCS is one of the key national services of the Government's new Small Business Service and the plan is to increase the number of "live" TCS Programmes at any one time to 1,000.
Further details are available from TCS. Tel: +44 (0)1367 245230; Fax: +44(0)1367 242831; E-mail: k.brothwell@tcs.co.uk;Web site: www.tcsonline.org.uk
