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ERIC Number: ED451363
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999-Sep
Pages: 36
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Engineering Skills Formation in Britain: Cyclical and Structural Issues. Towards a National Skills Agenda. Skills Task Force Research Paper 7.
Mason, Geoff
Cyclical and structural issues in engineering skills formation in Great Britain were studied through a review of recent employment patterns, income patterns, employment projections, recent trends in education and training, and recent developments in technology and work organization. The review focused on the following issues: (1) the extent and nature of mismatches between the supply of and demand for engineering skills; (2) the extent to which engineering skill problems are cyclical as opposed to structural; and (3) the adequacy of current arrangements for engineering education and training. The following were among the main conclusions: (1) engineering skill problems are most apparent when they manifest in the form of external recruitment difficulties at the peak of each business cycle; (2) long-term trends in training levels and recruitment difficulties in the past 3 decades reflect structural rather than merely cyclical weaknesses in the British system of engineering training; (3) recent changes in markets and work organizations have significantly increased engineering employers' expectations of graduates; and (4) one way to expand modern apprenticeship (MA) numbers would be to develop preapprenticeship courses to prepare underqualified 16- and 17-year-olds for later entry to MA schemes. (Fourteen tables/figures are included. The bibliography lists 34 references.) (MN)
DfEE Publications, P.O. Box 5050, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6YJ, England (SKT12). Tel: 0845 60 222 60; Fax: 0845 60 333 60. For full text: http://www.dfee.gov.uk/skillsforce.
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Department for Education and Employment, London (England).
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A