Boosting the number of UK engineers

The usual calls for action have been issued. Here's a couple: 'we must focus on attracting new talent into the industry' and 'it is critical we close the engineering skills gap'. The reason we do not have enough engineers is because the UK's engineering sector has been neglected over the years. Successive governments didn't seen merit in the sector and allowed it to wither. Companies shut, people found employment elsewhere, if they were lucky, and many of their children saw no reason to be involved in the industry. The perceptions linger: many still see engineering as a low paying career with little in the way of prospects. The recent closures of dockyards doesn't help. The problem is generational. Even if EngineeringUK's 'wish list' could be met today, the benefits wouldn't be realised for some years. But that's no reason for not getting on with trying to turn things around.