Sir James Dyson, founder of the technology company, has called for a new wave of technical universities to address the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training. His comments come as figures show more than one million 16 to 24-year-olds in Britain are currently not in education, employment or training.
Concerns over engineering shortage
Sir James raised concerns about Britain's lack of engineers, warning this could affect the country's ability to compete globally. He backed a report from the Policy Exchange think tank, which argued for more technical institutions to meet employers' skills needs.
Sir James said: "Britain doesn't produce enough engineers. Only about one in eleven British graduates studied engineering or related subjects. Without them, we can't make things, invent new products and technologies – or compete against the rest of the world. Britain needs many more places like these. This report shows how to build them."
University deserts and the NMITE model
Policy Exchange said that one in 10 people in England live in a "university desert" – around 5.5 million people. The organisation reported that there are 57 English towns and cities with populations of 60,000 or more that have no university of their own.
The report studied the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford, an institution designed to focus on employer-focused technical and engineering skills. It argued that NMITE's model should be replicated in other parts of the country.
Lord Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education and Employment, said: "Differential access to skills is one of the key drivers of regional inequality across Britain.
"The post-16 journey is vital for the needs of both SMEs and the large infrastructure programmes, which will be the driving force of substantial economic growth."
A crisis of alignment
While more than one million young people are not in education, employment or training, employers report more than 250,000 vacancies they cannot fill because applicants lack the required skills, qualifications or experience. Policy Exchange described this as a "crisis in alignment".
Byron Evans, research fellow and co-author of the report, said: "Our higher education system is beginning to buckle – contributing to regional, social and economic ills. British history and our European neighbours show that technical educational institutions require a distinct and explicit focus to guard against academic drift.
"Fundamentally, a roll-out of NMITE-type universities offers much needed diversity in degree-level provision – while supporting the crucial bedrock of technical skills required for any serious re-industrialisation of Britain."
