Dangerous shortfall in UK engineering graduates predicted

As the Institution releases a new position statement on UK student fees, UCAS figures show the rise in tuition fees is already deterring students from degrees in vital subjects like engineering.

UCAS figures show the rise in tuition fees is already deterring students from degrees in vital subjects like engineering

UCAS figures released today (30 January) which show an overall 1.3% drop in students applying for engineering degrees are a worrying sign of the dangerous shortage of engineering skills set to hit the UK in coming years.

Colin Brown, Director of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:

“The drop in applications for engineering degrees may be small but is hugely worrying as we need young engineering talent more than ever to help the country’s economy pick up.

“If we are to recover we need engineers to help boost manufacturing industries, to ensure secure and low carbon energy supplies and to develop major projects like HS2.

“Ultimately the drop in student numbers may also lead to job cuts at some universities with effects on engineering departments that will be difficult to reverse.”

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Higher Education Tuition Fees position statement released today recommends that:

• Government links its Higher Education policy to its plans for economic growth, reducing tuition fees for subjects that are of long term value to the economy;

• Government should introduce a system to progressively write off student debt for students with degrees in strategically important and vulnerable subjects and who achieve agreed professional qualifications in a related occupation;

• The forthcoming all-age career service be specifically tasked to identify and address the concerns that less-advantaged school-leavers have about university study;

• Government underwrites university engineering departments for a period of three years to ensure continuity of provision while a potentially turbulent situation beds down.