Back in the day, the better of our engineering firms sponsored undergraduates to attend the existing universities as part of an engineering apprenticeship – remember those? They didn't set up rival institutions close to their offices to undermine the existing universities and make it harder for everyone else.

The cynic in me would suggest that if he was truly interested in the UK economy he'd be following suit.

Jon

Remember when every school had a BBC Micro and kids were taught to program?

Education policy was deliberately changed to stop that in favour of training children to use Office software. This was because it was 'too expensive' to retrain teachers, most of whom had no IT Skills or interest in learning any.

A golden opportunity was missed. No-one should be surprised it's now a problem that Britain "needs another one million engineers with skills in software, hardware and electronics by 2020". One might ask what current policy is doing to improve matters. I doubt the answer is Grammar Schools and banning immigration.

On a positive note British Universities are doing a good job producing high-end Engineers. These are the bright blokes with talent who can do the maths and innovate: the serious shortage seems to be in the next level down, the people needed to fill out the engineering details or write the software.

Dave

Yesterday I was in a meeting that included a couple of 'interns' who were making a good contribution. Apparently it's the modern jargon for sandwich students. I went because my graduate trainee who was down to go is on another week-long training course. So some industry is providing training in various forms. One of the factors not considered is that on the job training is a bit of a burden on the trainer – me – as in yesterday's case it meant 5 hours driving to attend.

MB2 +1!

Still, at least he will be using some of the profits he made by moving his production abroad to do some good here.

rgds

Bill

Many were critical when companies like Nissan and Honda set up shop in the UK (after being courted by government ministers), thus nailing the coffin lid on our own domestic car production – the criticism being that the uk was being used as cheap labour with all the profits going back overseas to the parent companies.

Dyson has done the same process in reverse, keeping the top end jobs and the profits in the UK and using the production plant overseas to exploit cheaper labour and remain competitive. And people are critical.

Is it better to be a nation of designers and innovators, or a source of cheap labour for foreign companies?

For local reasons I am not a great fan of Dyson.

Fifty or so years ago quite a number of major firms such as de Havilland had their own colleges where they taught their apprentices to HND level. Others dominated the local techs in a similar manner. Is this what Dyson is talking about? The major worry must be that such a place will turn out clones. I would have thought that Dyson's company that exists on innovation needs engineers with fresh ideas from the outside world.

Everyone agrees that we need far more engineers. Also everyone agrees we need more doctors, nurses, teachers, prison warders, policemen and, perhaps soon, military. Where are they all going to come from given that there is a residue of the population who cannot or will not work because they are ill, severely handicapped, drunk, retired etc?

12 Bore is right in as much as a radical rethink is required in secondary education. Girls seem to be discouraged from doing physics and chemistry because "they are too hard". Personally I think the discouragement is due to cost considerations. These are expensive subjects to teach. Most of the women engineers I knew, some I still know, were educated at private schools.

Rant over, I should be in the workshop.

JA

Take a look at JCB's training facility, just how things where in the 50s/60s.

There is mor information here

http://www.utcolleges.org/about/schools/

I removed my comment.

Edited By V8Eng on 04/11/2016 18:59:27

An engineer in six months! It took me years.

JA

Yes but the course probably included hand-filing a cube within a cube accurate to a tenth and being sent to get a Gross of Colander Holes.