§ Miss Joan Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science which of the recommendations of the Finniston report on the engineering profession, designed to increase the proportion of women graduating in engineering, have now been implemented.
§ Mr. William SheltonAs recommended by the Finniston committee, efforts are being made through school-industry liaison schemes to encourage more girls to study engineering. In particular, the engineering industry training board has sponsored since 1979 an annual "Insight" programme in collaboration with universities to give girls an opportunity to learn about engineering as a subject for study and as a profession. Since 1980, the board has also made cash awards available for a limited number of able women who have been sponsored by a company in the engineering industry to study the subject for a first degree. The national engineering scholarships scheme run by my Department, though not exclusively for women, actively seeks to attract them: in 1981, 15 per cent. of the scholarships went to women. Such initiatives have no doubt helped to increase the number of women graduating in engineering and technology subjects. The number of women as a proportion of the total graduating in such subjects is projected to increase by some 50 per cent. from 1980—the year in which the Finniston report was published—to 1984.
With reference to the Finniston committee's other recommendation in this field directed towards the education service, bridging programmes are available to enable women—as well as men—studying for first degrees in mathematics and science to transfer to engineering. My right hon. Friend has not sought actively to promote the further provision of such programmes, because there are relatively few women on mathematics and relevant science courses, as well as engineering courses.