Editor's comment for February 2019

One line in particular grabbed my attention: “My teachers pushed university as the only option after leaving school,” explained Lucy Spiteri-Beale, a software apprentice at Renishaw.

I posted the comment on social media and I can see it resonated with many of you as well. Engineering and manufacturing are multi-disciplined industries that require wide range of different skillsets. We’re simply not going to get the right balance if schoolteachers are incessantly pushing kids towards university.

I really do need to be clear here. I have absolutely no problem with anyone going to university if the career they’re pursuing requires it (or might require it). University education is woven into the very fabric of our society and heritage. It’s an institution and we would be nowhere without our graduate doctors, architects, scientists, technologists and engineers. That’s a given, No question.

But it shouldn’t be an automatic choice and it certainly shouldn’t be the only option for school leavers. Some careers simply don’t need it. Some people aren’t right for it. Our society has always been a complementary blend of academic and practical skills and we absolutely need both – particularly in engineering and manufacturing where the skills gap is becoming a real crisis.

The problem is that practical subjects have largely fallen off the school curriculum over the years and many schoolteachers are simply too young to remember that the UK was once a manufacturing powerhouse. Then there’s the inevitable pressure that schools are under to produce university standard kids and also the fact that universities themselves are more like businesses these days rather than unbiased seats of learning.

Apprenticeships really are a great option for anyone who’s not totally sold on the university idea and companies like Renishaw are experienced at recognising talent and channelling and supporting its young employees towards the right academic path. Sometimes that road leads to university; sometimes it doesn’t. Not everyone is the same or has the same aspirations or ability.

Dave Tudor Editorial Director