WEST LOTHIAN, UK – A partnership of private firms, public entities and UK universities have formed a foundation aimed at raising the number of industry-ready engineering graduates.

Alarmed at a 45% drop in electronic engineering degrees in the UK, the National Microelectronics Institute has established the UK Electronics Skills Foundation to encourage employers to work with schools to enlighten students on career opportunities in the field. Plans call for enlisting the help of summer schools to encourage students to study for electronics engineering degrees, and providing scholarships that connect all sizes of firms with undergraduate students.

UKESF supporters include the University of Bristol, Edinburgh, Imperial College, Southampton and Surrey. Initial funding has been provided by NMI, BIS (Department for Business Innovation and Skills), SEMTA (the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies), ARM, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Dialog Semiconductor and Imagination Technologies.