Mind the skills gap

A study from the

(RAE) and

has revealed that industry and academia must work closer together to produce graduates with the skills needed by

engineering companies.

The RAE surveyed over 400 engineering companies to help shape the format of engineering courses to ensure better alignment between education and the need and practices of engineers.

The study, entitled ‘Educating Engineers for the 21st Century: the Industry View’, starts by examining undergraduate and graduate courses, but also identifies the need for more encouragement for school pupils to take maths and physics.

David Birchall of Henley Management College said “The study revealed great shortages of engineers, particularly in the future. The problem is twofold; there are less students taking engineering courses and there is a concern amongst employers about the practical understanding of graduates.”

Birchall went on to say that with increasing student numbers being educated with less money, courses tend to focus more on theory and less on practical engineering. This causes problems in an industry where the technology changes so rapidly.