Government creates Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

19 Jun 2009

by: Sarah Underwood

The Government has merged the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to create a new organisation charged with building Britain's capabilities to compete in the global economy.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is claimed by the government to combine the strengths of BERR in shaping the enterprise environment, analysing the needs of the various parts of British industry and building strategies for industrial strength with the expertise of DIUS in maintaining world class universities, expanding access to higher education, investing in the UK's science base and shaping skills policy and innovation.

Among the department’s objectives are assessing the changing skills needs of the UK economy and designing policies to meet them through public and privately funded life long training; and investing in the development of a higher education system committed to widening participation, equipping people with the skills and knowledge to compete in a global economy and securing and enhancing Britain's existing world class research base.

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