The UK’s most successful electronics companies are putting their weight behind an initiative to raise the profile of engineering as a career choice of the country’s brightest students.
A launch event at the University of Surrey has given a group of electronic engineering students have been handpicked from leading universities the opportunity to meet and learn from industry bosses including ARM CEO Warren East.
The government is supporting the initiative which starts with this inaugural UK Electronic Skills Foundation (UKESF) summer workshop aimed at encouraging top graduates to acquire the skills needed by today’s electronics industry.
“We cannot address general issues of engineers’ status in society but we can provide practical support to a very specific group of students,” said Indro Mukerjee, chair of UKESF Strategic Advisory Board and executive chairman, C-MAC MicroTechnology.
Indro Mukerjee, chair of UKESF Strategic Advisory Board, chair of Semta’s electronics strategy group, and executive chairman, C-MAC MicroTechnology said: “Electronic engineering is a key enabling technology for economic growth yet we’ve seen nearly a 50 per cent decline in students entering electronic engineering degrees in just a few years. We're working to reverse this decline, and to ensure graduates are better prepared for the exciting and rewarding careers in our industry.”
ARM CEO Warren East believes it is important for the smaller companies which make up the electronics industry come together to encourage more high calibre students to take up engineering careers.
“We can still get the graduates we need today,” said East, “but we are concerned there is a potential risk that finding the right graduates will become more of an issue in future.”
“If the supply of graduates dries up in the UK then we will be forced to look elsewhere, this is something we do not want to do,” said East.
“We want to see more engineering graduates in the UK,” said East.
“Having the right calibre of engineering students coming through our universities is fundamental for us,” said Tony King-Smith vice president of marketing at Imagination Technologies.
“We are starting to challenge some of the perceptions about what engineering is in the UK,” said King-Smith
This year’s CBI Education and Skills survey highlighted a severe shortage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates and a lack in workplace experience and employability skills among graduates such as team working, customer awareness and communication.
In electronics there has been a dramatic decline in students entering electronic engineering degrees (47% between 2002 and 2008).
The UK electronics industry contributes £23bn per year to the UK economy.