The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies or SEMTA is one of 25 organisations for the whole UK, under the umbrella organisation

Umbrella organization

An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...

 Skills for Business

Skills for Business

The Skills for Business network is an umbrella organisation for the twenty-five Sector Skills Councils in the United Kingdom.-Sector Skills Councils:* People 1st - hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism * Skills for Care and Development* Skillsmart Retail...

.

History

It was formed in 2003, and represents 76,000 businesses who employ around two million people. It is based in Watford

Watford

Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...

. It has other offices in London, Billingham

Billingham

Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...

, Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, Bridgend

Bridgend

Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

. Like other Sector Skills Councils

Sector Skills Councils

Sector Skills Councils are state-sponsored, employer-led organisations that cover specific economic sectors in the United Kingdom. They have four key goals:* to reduce skills gaps and shortages* to improve productivity...

, it is funded by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills

UK Commission for Employment and Skills

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills is a non-departmental public body that provides advice on skills and employment policy to the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations.-History:...

. The Chief Executive is Philip Whiteman.

Importance of science and engineering

In 2006, the UK's science and engineering turnover was £204 billion, and engineering exports were £137 billion - 40% of the UK's total exports.

Aims

The ultimate aim is to increase competitiveness of the industry sector by keeping track of the quantities (or lack) of recruits to the science and engineering sectors and what training there is available and whether the training available is meeting the needs of industry or falling behind.

Sectors

The sectors it aims to cover are:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Electrical
• Electronics
• Marine
• Mechanical
• Metals
• Science & Bioscience

See also

• Automotive Skills
  Automotive Skills
  Automotive Skills Limited is an English registered charity and one of 25 Sector Skills Councils , responsible for the retail motor industry, awarded a licensed by the then secretary of state at the Department for Education and Skills, the Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, in February 2004 .The SSC...
  
  , another SSC
• National Skills Academy for Manufacturing
• Engineering and Technology Board
• EEF the manufacturers organisation
  EEF the manufacturers organisation
  EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, works with manufacturing, engineering and technology-based businesses in the UK.EEF is the largest sectoral employers' organisation in the UK...