§ Sir John Farrasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the annual production of professional engineers in the United Kingdom compares with that of other countries such as Japan, the United States of America, and West Germany; and what steps are being taken to increase the United Kingdom's figures.
§ Mr. BrookeInternational comparisons of numbers of engineers achieving chartered or equivalent status annually are not available. Estimates of the number of
Estimates of engineering qualifications obtained Rate per relevant age group* Postgraduate level First degree level Below first degree level All qualifications below postgraduate level Postgraduate level First degree level Below first degree level All qualifications below postgraduate level thousands thousands thousands thousands per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent. United Kingdom† (1982) 3.9 15.4 15.5 30.8 0.5 1.8 1.8 3.7 Germany (1979) 0.9 5.4 13.8 19.2 0.1 0.6 1.6 2.2 Japan‡ (1979) 7.0 54–68 5.12 59–80 0.5 3.5–4.5 0.3–0.8 3.9–5.2 United States of America ║ (1980) 20.4 74.7 — 74.7 0.5 1.8 — 1.8 * The relevant age group consists of the total population in the year of graduation, eg average of 21–22 year olds for the United Kingdom. Source:
UNESCO Statistical Yearbook.
Education Statistics for the United Kingdom.
† Excludes professional qualifications obtained in the private sector.
‡ Data refer only to principal degrees and diplomas awarded by universities and schools of engineering.
║ Includes private sector.
808Whigher education engineering qualifications awarded each year in the United Kingdom together with figures for Japan, the United States of America and West Germany are given in the following table.
Substantial increases in the supply of British graduates with high technology related skills are currently forecast. These will result from the Government's £38 million information technology initiative; last year's National Advisory Body programme planning exercise; and universities' intention to increase student intakes in scientific and technological subjects. As a result, engineering home graduate output from universities and the public sector is projected to increase by over 17 per cent. betweem 1984–85 and 1989–90 from around 12,500 to approaching 15,000. (These figures are for GB first degree home graduate output, and are not comparable with the United Kingdom figures of first degree level qualifications obtained given in the table.
A committee chaired by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State the hon. Member for Coventry, South-West (Mr. Butcher), has recently reported on graduate skill shortages in information technology, and will shortly report on technician shortages and on further aspects of graduate shortages. The Government are considering whether the graduate output increases already planned with be sufficient.