A MAJOR national programme aimed at securing the future of Britain's shipbuilding and repair industry is being launched at Newcastle University today.

The university's Department of marine technology is playing an important part in the £7m Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association (SSA) programme aimed at helping the marine industry to grow and develop.

The programme is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and private companies.

The marine industry is worth five per cent of the UK's gross national product and employs about 100,000 people.

Senior industry figures, including ship builders, repairers, supply and offshore companies, as well as representatives from the DTI will be attending the launch.

Highlights of the day will include an address by SSA president Sam Cameron on improving UK shipyard competitive- ness.

There will also be a series of workshops tackling a variety of issues faced by the industry, such as marketing of yards, the role of university research programmes and how to improve the industry's supply chain.

One of the university's key contributions to the project has been to devise a framework for analysis of a MasterClass consultancy programme, which helps companies identify areas for improvement.

George Bruce, senior lecturer in marine production technology at the university, said: "This launch marks a new beginning for the shipbuilding and repair industry.

"Programmes like this show that there are excellent prospects for the UK shiprepairing and building industry.

"The UK industry has the collective skills to build a variety of specialised ship types."

He added: "It is fitting that this launch is taking place in Newcastle, which has a tradition of shipbuilding, and which still retains major companies and research and development infrastructure.

"The public has the wrong impression of shipbuilding and repairing. It is not about adventures on the Titanic, rivets and workers in cloth caps - the industry is very forward thinking and hi-tech.

"Ships are the most complex man-made objects, and of major importance to the UK."