Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of engineering degree places at universities.

In the 2021/22 academic year, 29,130 students at UK higher education (HE) providers qualified with a first degree in Engineering and Technology (CAH10). This is a decrease of 735 compared to 2020/21, where the number of first degree qualifications in Engineering and Technology stood at 29,865, the highest in the series.

Over the last 20 years, the number of students qualifying with a first degree each year has generally increased. The number qualifying in this subject increased from 19,455 in 2002/03 to 29,130 in 2021/22, an increase of 9,675. However, in 2019/20, the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) system replaced the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) system as a way classifying academic subjects and modules. Therefore, caution is advised when interpreting subject information over time.

Source: HESA Table-50, HESA Table-17, HESA Publications Archives

Footnotes:

1. From 2019/20, Engineering and technology is defined as code CAH10 of HESA's Common Aggregation Hierarchy: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/hecos/cah. Prior to 2019/20, Engineering and technology is defined as code 9 in HESA's Joint Academic Coding System (JACS): https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs. The different subject classification systems are split into two columns to highlight that caution should be taken when comparing data across time. The system not in use at the time of the academic year is denoted with “[z]”.

2. Counts are on the basis of full-person-equivalents (FPE). Where a student is studying more than one subject, they are apportioned between the subjects that make up their course.

Universities are independent, autonomous institutions, and are therefore responsible for their own decisions about the courses that they deliver.

The department is investing an additional £3.8 billion in further education (FE) and higher education (HE) over the course of this Parliament. This will ensure people can access high-quality training and education that addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity, meaning that industries such as engineering get people with the skills that they need.

Apprenticeships are a great way for people to receive high-quality training and begin or progress in a career in engineering. The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 financial year. Employers in the engineering and manufacturing sectors have developed over 150 apprenticeship standards, right up to Masters level, supplying the skills they need for today and supporting them to develop a pipeline of talent for the future.

T Levels offer a two-year technical qualification alternative to A levels. Designed with employers, T Levels are boosting access to high-quality technical education for thousands of young people and creating our skilled workforce of the future. Eleven T Levels are now available in STEM subjects, including Engineering and Manufacturing, opening up great careers to young people and helping to address the UK’s STEM skills gap.

The department has established 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across the country to help close skills gaps in key STEM areas. IoTs are partnerships between further education providers, universities and employers, with employers at the heart of identifying the technical skills needs in their specific geographical areas to inform IoTs’ curriculum development and delivery. Supported by departmental capital investment in state of the art facilities and industry standard equipment, IoTs offer higher technical education pathways through Engineering from L3 through to L6 including T Levels, HTQs and Degree Apprenticeships. So far, IoTs have seen 7,255 starts in Engineering over three academic years with year on year increases expected.

In HE, around £750m is being invested in the Strategic Priorities Grant funding over a three year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high-quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.

Moreover, as part of cross-government work the UK Science and Technology Framework, sets out 10 key interventions to cement the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower by 2030. The Unit for Future Skills is developing a Skills Dashboard for the department to understand the supply and demand of science and technology skills for critical technologies.