Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Economics, government & businessSkills shortages

CBI blames education system for lack of scientists and engineers

by Michael Millar 23 Aug 2006
by Michael Millar 23 Aug 2006

The education system – and not employers – is squarely to blame for the rapidly falling number of science and engineering graduates in the UK, the CBI has insisted.

This year’s A-level results, published last week, once again revealed the number of science students continued to fall in the UK, prompting serious fears that the UK will soon lose its place as a centre of high-tech innovation.

Figures show that, in the past 20 years, the number of students studying physics A-level has fallen by 56%, and the number of chemistry students by 37%. High-tech industries will need 2.4 million new workers by 2014 to fill skills gaps, but last year only 32,000 undergraduates achieved degrees in physics, engineering or technology.

CBI director-general, Richard Lambert, said thousands of potential scientists were being lost because of a stripped-down science curriculum, a lack of specialist teachers and uninspiring careers advice.

Employers have been criticised in some quarters for not playing their part in changing negative stereotypes about scientists and engineers, but Lambert refuted the claims. “Companies are doing lots of things, but they are pushing against the tide,” he told Personnel Today. “It’s very hard-going in an environment like this.”

In related news, the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) has warned that many graduates entering the job market cannot get work because they expect too much from employers.

Statistics released last week by the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed that the number of graduates out of work six months after leaving university has risen to 6%. This is despite a large rise in the number of graduate vacancies, which this year grew at the fastest rate for 12 years, according to AGR figures.

Carl Gilleard, chairman of the AGR, said some students had unrealistic hopes of the jobs that would be available to them but “were no longer prepared to downgrade their expectations”.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Just because someone is a graduate doesn’t mean they are employable,” he said. “Going to university is not a passport into a graduate job.”

Graduate job vacancies on the rise




CBI
Michael Millar

previous post
Long-term incentives failing to meet the needs of executives and shareholders
next post
Nurses at University Hospital of North Staffordshire set to strike over redundancies

You may also like

How to stop flying blind with workforce planning

3 Sep 2025

Business confidence grows to post-Budget peak

1 Sep 2025

How can employers solve the youth confidence crisis?

14 Aug 2025

Skills England: Demand for ‘priority skills’ to accelerate

13 Aug 2025

Dairy farmers warn labour shortages could affect food...

13 Aug 2025

Just a sixth of employers proactively hire ex-offenders

12 Aug 2025

Call for more support for young workers, as...

12 Aug 2025

Hiring hits a wall as employment costs rise

11 Aug 2025

Apprenticeship funding of degree level training ‘must be...

5 Aug 2025

Ministers vow to set living wage rate for...

5 Aug 2025

  • Work smart – stay well: Avoid unnecessary pain with centred ergonomics SPONSORED | If you often notice...Read more
  • Elevate your L&D strategy at the World of Learning 2025 SPONSORED | This October...Read more
  • How to employ a global workforce from the UK (webinar) WEBINAR | With an unpredictable...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise