Engineers (Hansard, 4 December 1992)

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what plans his Department has to encourage qualified engineers to enter teaching; how many qualified engineers and electrical engineers have been recruited to the teaching profession for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what is the total number of (a) qualified engineers and (b) electrical engineers currently in the teaching profession at (i) school and (ii) university and higher education level; and if he will make a statement.
397W

§ Mr. Forth
The Government do not collect statistics on the number of qualified engineers in or joining the teaching profession in schools and higher education.
The Department provides bursaries to encourage graduates in appropriate disciplines—including engineering—to undertake initial teacher training in certain secondary school subjects including technology and physics. The Department has also initiated a number of specific measures to encourage mature career changers, including engineers, to enter school teaching. These include organising and part funding a programme of "Taste of Teaching" courses run by higher education institutions; encouraging the development of new shortened teacher training courses for mature entrants, including engineers; and introducing and financing new entry routes into the profession via the licensed teacher and articled teacher schemes.

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to increase the use of outside engineers in technology courses.

§ Mr. Forman
There has been a considerable expansion of links between industry and education over the last decade. Government have encouraged and welcomed this development which has led to an increase in the involvement of engineers with education at all levels. Within this context, it is for individual institutions to decide the form particular links with industry should take, and the extent to which this could include the involvement of practising engineers in engineering and technology courses.

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to encourage qualified engineers and electrical engineers to enter teaching at university and higher education level.

§ Mr. Forman
It is for institutions to recruit the staff they need to provide high-quality teaching in engineering and other subjects. The Government have no plans to intervene in this process. More flexible pay structures in recent years have enabled management to target pay on specific areas of recruitment difficulty.

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to promote engineering within technology courses in the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Forth
A number of national curriculum subjects, including mathematics, science, technology and art, offer pupils the opportunities to acquire fundamental knowledge, skills and understanding appropriate for the study of engineering after the age of 16. My right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for Education and for Wales are currently considering the recommendations of the national curriculum technology review group and will make a full statement when their joint proposals are published for consultation later in December.