Engineering engineers [Back to School Education]

SOME CALL it a crisis, others merely express deep concerns. But everyone agrees that engineering education in the UK is facing significant challenges. The list of worries always begins with the skills gap: Britain requires 110,000 science, engineering and technology graduates a year, but only produces around two-thirds of this number. And with 41 per cent of UK engineering companies planning to expand, that gap is likely to widen. So where are the problems in the UK, how does Britain compare to its competitor nations, and what changes should be considered?