Q&A with Business West’s New Board Director: Professor Sir Steve West

Professor Sir Steve West CBE has joined Business West as a Non Executive Board Director. Sir Steve is Chief Executive Officer of the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE Bristol), and was awarded a knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 for services to Health, Business and Education. His appointment as Board Director marks a return to the Business West fold, having previously served as President of the Bristol Chamber and Initiative eight years ago. Here, he answers our questions…

What does your typical day look like? 

Very busy. I’m typically in the office around 7.30am and the working day, with all its events and networking opportunities, could go on until 10pm or 11pm. 

Running UWE Bristol is like running a small town. It is a big place with 42,000 students and approximately 4,000 staff.  As Chief Executive Officer, I am responsible for everything, but I am supported by a fantastic team. I am accountable to the board, regulators, funders and parliament.

I am involved in the strategy and operations, with oversight of research, learning and teaching, enterprise and innovation. This includes developing new programmes and products. 

We are halfway through implementing the 2030 strategy, which means making the right decisions now to achieve our vision. But I’m also testing the UWE Bristol Board to think far beyond 2030; what will life be like in 2050? The world around us is changing very quickly. 

Why do you want to join Business West’s board? 

The organisation is focused on creating the right environment to drive productivity, which will help deliver all the things we need as a region. 

The business community needs an independent and bold voice. We need to be agile and solutions focused. We can act as a catalyst for change. 

Business West has a real opportunity, especially now, as the Government’s agenda is about accelerating growth. To do that, we need to think about infrastructure, skills and how we position the region. How do we exert influence nationally, and internationally? 

Competition is often international, and not local. 

Many of our industries are exporting or importing. We have unstable and unpredictable geopolitics, and it will get tougher to import and export. 

We need to find how to be a nation that can trade effectively. As a country we are strong in certain areas, like High Tech and Professional Services. However, those sectors are having to think very carefully about the impact of artificial intelligence. 

We must understand where our industries are strong. So, for our part of the world that includes Aerospace, Life Sciences and Defence. How do we maximise our ability to grow these? How do we train and retrain the workforce to enable this, and what does this mean for existing, and future, staff?   

How do we get inward investment to our part of the world when we may not be the priority? How do we work with the private and public sector to create opportunities and the right investment environment?

We need to work together to answer these questions. Align, collaborate and deliver. This means removing the blinkers that we currently wear; we shouldn’t confine ourselves to what we currently know. We need to start shaping the industry sectors of the future, whatever they may be. 

How should we prepare the future workforce? 

When I ask employers what they need from the future workforce, they often struggle to answer. They are busy fighting to keep the business going. You need to force yourself to stop and think ‘where are we trying to get to and what does this mean for the workforce’?

The existing workforce needs to develop, and the future workforce is currently at school. We should be preparing students for new advanced technologies. They need to learn how to use the tools ethically and use them well. 

Shut your eyes and think back to 30 years ago and remember what life was like then. Now think about life today. Now think 30 years ahead. The pace of change is only going to accelerate. Today, you have more computing power in your phone than Concord ever had.

Those that are quick to take advantage of the new technology will grow and accelerate very fast. That’s the joy. 

The UK, and our region, has a history of invention and advances. Many years ago, UWE Bristol arranged for NASA scientists to present to local school children. I remember they explained that we don’t realise how lucky we are; that our local heritage of innovation is such a gift for inspiring the next generation. 

We need to focus on STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering the Arts and Maths - but also Innovation and Enterprise; STEAMIE. Innovation and Enterprise are vitally important for economic growth. So too is cultivating a sense of curiosity and creativity in the next generation. We need to remember what makes us human, in the face of the rapid advances in technology. We mustn’t lose sight of that. 

As Board Director, I will play my role in creating that space where Business West, its partners, members and other stakeholders can have these important conversations, where we can collaborate and then deliver.