The lack of engineering graduates coming out of United Kingdom universities has highlighted the failure of the demand-led student choice system of higher education to produce the skilled workforce essential to driving economic renewal, which is the Labour government’s top priority, claims an industry leader.

However, that’s not all working against universities enrolling more students on engineering and technology courses – with the high cost of expanding places and the requirement of A-levels in mathematics and physics for entry to many first degrees restricting access, particularly for women and less advantaged applicants.

With the United Kingdom facing mounting challenges – from delays to infrastructure and renewable energy projects to enabling AI-driven industries to thrive – the head of a not-for-profit organisation working to inspire the next generation of engineers has warned of a mismatch between the small number of UK undergraduates studying engineering and technology and growing job vacancies in key industries, including green energy.

Hilary Leevers, chief executive of EngineeringUK, said that on their estimate there were only 6.1% of UK undergraduates in 2020-21 enrolled in engineering and technology first degrees, while these sectors accounted for 25% of job adverts and 19% of the UK workforce.

Too much to chance

Leevers said that while the demand-driven higher education system may be “nice in principle”, it “leaves too much to chance”.

In a new book, she urges universities – and the government – to intervene, saying: “Essential workforce needs can’t be left entirely to student choice.”

Her chapter, “Shaping Higher Education: Driving Economic Prosperity and Sustainability Through Engineering and Technology” is part of a collection of articles in a new book, Making Equal – New Visions for Opportunity and Growth (Emerald Publishing), edited by Graeme Atherton and Peter John, to mark the 125th anniversary of Ruskin College, Oxford, which was founded in 1899 with trade union support to offer working-class adults career-focused higher education.

Leevers says many UK companies are struggling to fill vacancies, and the skills shortage threatens economic prosperity and the nation’s capacity to address environmental and technological challenges. It is also driving up salaries in engineering, which are 30% higher than the national average.

She claims that the UK further education system is more responsive to labour market needs than universities, despite over 40% of engineering-related jobs requiring a degree.

Lack of women

The lack of women enrolling in engineering and technology undergraduate degrees is a major problem, standing at just 18.5%, according to the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Representation is higher on engineering and technology postgraduate courses, at around 26-28% for women.

However, the lack of diversity goes wider, with disabled students making up just 10.5% of those in engineering and tech first degrees and those coming from areas with low higher education participation rates representing 11.2% of students compared with 32.4% coming from the highest participation areas.

“Interestingly, engineering and technology degrees had a higher proportion of UK minority ethnic entrants than other subjects, particularly Asian students,” said Leevers.

Physics

She said widening participation is challenged by many engineering courses requiring mathematics and physics at A-levels for entry, especially as 400 secondary schools lack even one qualified physics teacher.

Some institutions, such as the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford and The Engineering and Design Initiative in London (TEDI-London), have taken a more innovative approach to recruitment, weighting students’ motivation and potential to succeed rather than focusing on entry criteria.

Leevers urges others to follow and to use foundation years, summer schools, and targeted support to help level the playing field further and unlock hidden talent.

Such initiatives are welcomed by engineering education leaders, with Johnny Rich, Chief Executive of the Engineering Professors’ Council, telling University World News that nearly half of all engineering courses now no longer require physics A level (or equivalent).

“That’s a wise approach given the shortages of physics teachers and that many engineering academics feel the A-level physics curriculum doesn’t map across to what students would need to know anyway,” he said.

Disconnect between students and labour market

Rich told University World News he agreed with Leevers about the disconnect between student ambitions and the labour market, saying: “Student choice dominates the availability of courses, but there’s nothing to ensure that matches the talent pipeline that employers need.

“It’s particularly problematic in engineering, which is further complicated by the fact that universities cannot afford to expand their engineering courses to meet the rise, in recent years, of applications, because the funding falls so far below the actual cost of providing high-quality courses.

“Whenever there is a squeeze on places, it impacts access for underrepresented groups.

“Given engineering’s historic record as a key driver of social mobility, that means a triple whammy for the government’s missions on growth, opportunity, and regional development.”

Professor Beverley Gibbs, director of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, a private higher education institution specialising in engineering and innovation based in Wiltshire, told University World News that the lack of women studying engineering hasn’t budged in the 40 years since she was an engineering apprentice in 1986. Her class back then had just 14% women in it.

She said the 6.1% of undergraduates studying engineering sounded about right but increased to 12.4% if computer science was included.

Participation varies by sub-discipline

“The participation rates for women vary widely by sub-discipline, with electrical and mechanical engineering being lower and biomedical engineering much higher.

“This appears to be a very Western problem, as international comparisons have shown,” she stated.

Gibbs urged caution on the lack of women studying physics and math at A-level, saying: “Medicine also requires those subjects at A-level, and medical schools are full of women.”

She believes women may be more attracted when the people’s side of engineering is visible.

“If true, this is a failing of us as a profession, and I’ve argued in the past that engineering is all about people, not things,” she said.

The Dyson Institute is a member of GuildHE, a group of 70 universities, university colleges, and specialist institutions focused on delivering vocational and technical higher education.

Better guidance

Another member of the group is Ravensbourne University, based in London’s North Greenwich digital hub, where Professor of Digital Media Simon Robertshaw, told University World News that young people considering joining the six million-strong engineering and tech workforce need better guidance about the opportunities available to flourish.

“Especially women and those from lower-income backgrounds and ethnic minority groups, they need role models in the fields and impartial advice on how to get in.

“We try to break down the barriers by co-creating our digital curricula with industry and embed real-world projects and placements,” he said.

Underrepresented

Stephanie Baxter, head of policy at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), told University World News that despite women remaining significantly under-represented in engineering and technology, both in university enrolments and across the workforce, some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines are seeing encouraging levels of female participation, with biological and sport sciences (50.8%), subjects allied to medicine (79%), and medicine and dentistry (64%).

“However, the imbalance persists beyond education. Women make up only 26.7% of the STEM workforce, despite representing 47.5% of the overall working population. And as seniority increases, female representation declines even further,’ she noted.

Baxter said that their latest skills survey highlights a concerning trend: only 54% of engineering employers in England, 47% in Wales, and 44% in Scotland believe the current education system is fit for purpose.

“To close the skills gap and unlock the full potential of our future workforce, we must reimagine how we present and support disciplines like engineering.

“By doing so, we can inspire broader participation, raise aspirations, and equip students with the creativity and problem-solving skills that are vital to our economy