Dyson to double size of UK engineering team

Inventor looking for graduates in design, mechanical and acoustic engineering

Inventor James Dyson has pledged to recruit more of Britain’s young engineers as part of a boost in research and development spending at the company’s laboratories in Wiltshire.

Dyson, who is best known for inventing the bag-less vacuum cleaner, plans to double the size of Dyson’s UK engineering team from 350 to 700.

He said many of the recruits at the company’s Wiltshire laboratories will be university graduates in design, mechanical and acoustic engineering.

Dyson, which exports its products to 49 countries, employs more than 2,500 people worldwide, with the number in the UK set to rise to 1,600.

Since 2005 it has quadrupled its research and development spending, launching the Dyson Airblade hand dryer and the firm’s smallest ever vacuum cleaner.

Areas of expertise at Wiltshire include microbiology, as well as fluid, electrical, thermal, acoustic and software engineering.

James Dyson said: “It is vital that Dyson – and the UK – continues to invest in the nation's engineering talent if we are to stay ahead.”

He added: “With excellent young aspiring scientists and engineers in our schools, it falls to companies such as Dyson to encourage this future generation.”

Dyson said the company was the second-highest UK patent filer after Rolls-Royce.