Efforts to recruit new blood to the electronics industry are well underway

It's a problem that has exercised various minds over the last few years, but with little apparent success. However, seeds are being sown which may reverse the trend. One path being developed is an attempt to convince school students who have yet to choose a university course that electronics could be an attractive and rewarding career. Some of the first efforts of this campaign were seen recently with a summer school organised by the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF); the first of many such events. Yet, with university tuition fees rising dramatically, fewer people may be inclined to take this route in future. But there is another way into the electronics world; the vocational route. The need to develop vocational skills has come into sharp focus over the last few years, after a period during which traditional apprenticeships were seen as 'old fashioned'. There are a number of initiatives in place in the UK to boost the take up of vocational training, and it's always good to know how effective that training is and how much work still needs to be done. Even better is if you can benchmark yourself against other countries. This year, the UK hosts a global vocational skills competition which should allow that. The event – WorldSkills London 2011 – will see 1000 competitors from 50 countries contesting 45 skills areas. Apart from showing where the UK stands in the skills ladder, the event is expected to boost interest in vocational skills amongst school students. You can find out more about the event, and about UKESF, in this issue and we encourage you to support both ventures. Some may look down on the vocational route into electronics, but the bottom line is that, without an urgent influx of skills, the UK's electronics industry will wither.