Good and bad news: the increase in the number of UK engineering graduates is a success story but we still require many more to take this career path

摘要

The good news is that the number of engineering graduates in the UK has been climbing in recent years. The bad news is that we still need many, many more. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency demonstrate that, after years of falling numbers, engineering graduates are steadily increasing. From a low point of 21,735 graduates in 2005-06 we have reached 30,530 in 2009-10. That equates to a 40 per cent increase in the space of just five years. This turnaround is a tremendous success story, but we must not become complacent. We need more young people to opt for a career in engineering if we are to tackle many of the major issues that we face as a society, most notably the issue of climate change.