Committee on Manpower Resources for Science and Technology: (Jackson Committee):...

Agenda, minutes, papers and a report of the Committee on Manpower Resources and the various sub-committees and working groups appointed by the main committee.

Each paper has the prefix CMR wich stands for Committee on Manpower Resources followed by the year in brackets.

Paper number order within each year.

For other files relating to the Committee on Manpower Resources for Science and Technology see HF 7

Topics

Labour

One of the committees set up by the Council for Scientific Policy was the Committee on Manpower Resources for Science and Technology, although it answered to the Department of Education and Science and the Ministry of Technology. It first met in February 1965 and was wound up by the Secretary of State for Education in 1968.

The Committee's terms of reference were to examine qualified manpower resources for science and technology but it extended its remit to study and attempt to estimate what the true needs for both qualified and supporting manpower were, and advise on the best ways to meet these needs.

The secretariat of the committee was composed of two members from the Department of Education and Science and two members from the Ministry of Technology. The first and only chairperson was Sir Willis Jackson (later Lord Jackson of Burnley), then Professor of Electrical Engineering at Imperial College. Other members were from universities and interested government bodies, including the ministries of Aviation, Labour, the Scottish Office, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the University Grants Committee. Representatives from Department of Education and Science, the Ministry of Technology and Department for Economic Affairs also attended.

At the time there was no co-ordinated study or survey of manpower services. It was hoped that with the establishment of the committee there would be a more general approach to establish the needs of qualified and supporting manpower and to offer advice on how these needs might be met.

The committee produced a report on intake of science and technology students into universities, jointly with the council.

Towards the end of 1968 it was decided to wind up the committee and replace it by an advisory committee whose remit would extend to all types of highly qualified manpower. Accordingly, the committee was formally dissolved in January 1969.