The shortfall in engineering graduates in the UK is unlikely to change in the near future, according to the Engineering and Technology Board.

It says the number of students taking engineering-based further education courses, including apprenticeships, has declined by more than a quarter in three years.

The trend is outlined in the ETB’s annual review of the labour market, Engineering UK 2007.

Other “significant challenges” highlighted in the review include the fact that only three in five apprentices complete their training; the number of registered engineers in the UK has fallen by 21,500 in the past decade; and 50% of all engineering postgraduate students in UK universities are from outside the UK.

The ETB has called on the government to make more engineering apprenticeships available to over-25s, because by 2018 the number of 16-year-olds in the population will have fallen by 16%.

To download the report go to: www.etechb.co.uk/_db/_documents/EngUK07.pdf

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