Poachers in industry

Huw Richards reports from the fringe meetings at the Labour party conference in Brighton

The University for Industry must live up to the "for industry" part of its title if it is to have a real impact on British economic competitiveness, film producer David Puttnam told a fringe meeting.

Mr Puttnam, who is chancellor of Sunderland University, a partner with the Institute for Public Policy Research in the UFI pilot project, said the most difficult task was not to inspire demand among the unemployed and employees, but to give incentives to employers.

He slammed the tendency of many companies to poach staff trained By longer sighted firms: "In the time it took Rover to train 300 engineers for a new model, they lost 100 to other companies in the West Midlands."