The 2013 Perkins Review has been revisited by Education for Engineering (E4E) in a new report published in February, Engineering Skills for the Future – the 2013 Perkins review revisited, looking at the steps that have been taken since the original report, and highlighting areas where more work needs to be done.

The original report by the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (now Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)), supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), indicated a skills gap in the engineering profession, and therefore an urgent need to increase and upskill the engineering workforce.

Professor John Perkins CBE, FREng led the 2013 report and believes the review indicates many of the same issues as the original report,

“There has been little progress in addressing the UK’s engineering skills gap since I first reviewed the education system five years ago… As a profession, we must now continue to raise the profile of engineering nationally and leverage this to galvanise change for the better.”

Dame Judith Hackitt, DBE, FREng is Chair of Make UK (formerly EEF) said she believes vocational education can have a significant impact on the future of engineering,

“We need to shout from the rooftops that vocational education in the digital age is as credible and valuable as academic routes and can supply our economy with the much needed talent from Generation Z for the future.”

Recommendations were made at government, professional and educational levels and the most recent review indicates that while progress has been made, urgent priorities for action remain.

The full report can be viewed here.