§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many young people in schools, colleges and universities are studying digital electronic design in preparation for jobs on the manufacturing side as distinct from the operating side of micro-electronic and computer technology.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the extent of the digital electronic design element in school, college and university engineering courses.
§ Mr. OakesMy Department does not monitor the detailed content of engineering courses but it is encouraging the education service to develop courses to meet the changing needs of industry, particularly those arising from the widespread application of micro-electronic technology. A major concern of the recently announced development programme for schools and colleges will be curriculum development intended to promote familiarity with the applications of microelectronics in a variety of learning contexts. In higher and further education many electronics and computing courses already include some elements of digital electronics design and the technician education council has approved some new courses including elements on microelectronics to begin this September.