On 9 November at 9am, Dr Hamid Mughal, Director of Global Manufacturing at Rolls-Royce will be sharing expertise from his 30 year career in the automotive and aerospace industries when he takes part in a question and answer session about productivity with local businesses at Lancaster House Hotel. This follows the release of new ONS data this month which showed productivity in the UK fell by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year. Figures show the UK remains around 15 per cent below average in comparison to productivity levels in other G7 countries.

The event has been arranged as part of ‘Productivity through People’ (PtP) - a support programme designed for North West businesses to address the low levels of productivity seen across the UK since the 2008 economic crash. Leading academics from Lancaster University Management School have teamed up with experts from industrial partners Rolls-Royce, Siemens and BAE Systems to support leaders of small and medium sized businesses by providing access to some of the latest technology and research. The aim is for this to translate into practical guidance to help create high performing businesses, each with a fully engaged workforce.

Dr Mughal was among the few senior business leaders in Britain selected to form the Productivity Leadership Group to explore what could be done to improve Productivity in the UK. This group has joined forces to make businesses more effective, competitive and productive – and recently launched Be the Business. Dr Mughal was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to technology, innovation, and manufacturing.

Professor Andrew Atherton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, said: “Our Productivity through People programme offers small and medium sized businesses access to the latest knowledge, technology and a supportive network to make positive change and improve the efficiency of their organisations.

“The programme is about giving business leaders the tools they need to make small changes that collectively make a big difference. Dr Mughal pledged his support to our Productivity through People programme which is now being replicated in other parts of the UK following a successful pilot completed this year. We are welcoming a new cohort of businesses into the Management School to start a second programme in December. We hope they will quickly get to see the results for themselves, which will in turn benefit the region and wider industry.”

The free event on 9 November 2017 will offer business leaders the opportunity to ask questions about the productivity agenda and the Productivity through People programme. The audience will also get to hear from participants of the programme’s pilot and how it’s helped them.

To find out more or attend the event: click here .

For further information about Productivity through People, call 01524 510728, email ptp@lancaster.ac.uk or visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/ptp