Jan 30, 2019
Engineering Skills for the Future - the 2013 Perkins review revisited, launched today, argues the UK education system cannot produce enough engineers to support the economy, especially with increasing reliance on home-grown talent post-Brexit.
Five years on from Professor John Perkins’ Review of Engineering Skills, the latest review finds that key stumbling blocks for addressing the annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers and technicians in the UK workforce include narrow post-16 education options, teacher shortages and an overly restrictive apprenticeship levy.
A series of recommendations set out ways to address these challenges and boost the talent pipeline into engineering. These include business taking an evidence-based, data driven approach to improving diversity in the workforce; using a standard evaluation framework to measure the impact of engineering focussed STEM engagement activities in schools and supporting our work with the Royal Academy of Engineering to drive the quality of these inspiration activities and simplify the offer for teachers through Tomorrow’s Engineers.
The updated review, produced by Education for Engineering (E4E), is an independent report from the engineering profession. It revisits the challenges highlighted in the original Perkins Review, and sets out a roadmap for government and the engineering community that identifies urgent priorities for action.
E4E is the engineering education and skills policy body that offers coordinated advice on education and skills policy to UK Government and the devolved Assemblies. EngineeringUK is a contributing member, providing expert analysis on the engineering talent pipeline.
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