It is now widely acknowledged that innovation is absolutely critical to the success of UK plc.  Enhancing revenue from new or improved products, processes and services is essential as competition from lower cost countries becomes more intense.

Investment in innovation has been stepped up but recent reports have confirmed that the UK is still lagging behind its European neighbours, the US and parts of the emerging Far East. One of the principal factors beleaguering the UK’s businesses is the well-documented skills shortage.

We are inundated with skills shortage stories as it is blamed for stifling innovation in sectors ranging from IT and engineering to nuclear power. We can be thankful that at present, Britain still has a reputation for engineering excellence, but we are currently facing the consequences of fewer skilled people graduating from our universities. While the number of projects that require skilled engineers is rising sharply, the talent pool in Britain is running dry. Already, jobs that would otherwise have gone to British graduates are going oversees, a trend that will continue unless we can reverse this decline.

Responsibility to tackle this problem must be shared between industry and UK government. Government needs to act now to ensure that sixth-form pupils are actively encouraged to apply for engineering courses in further education while the industry itself must ensure that young people see engineering as a positive, financially rewarding and exciting career option.

It is also crucial that young people have role models in the field of engineering to look up to. Inventor, entrepreneur and engineering guru Sir James Dyson announced plans a couple of years ago to build The Dyson School of Design Innovation in Bath. But Dyson’s school, which is intended to take 2,500 teenagers a week on a diploma course to help plug Britain’s engineering skills gap, has been dogged by delays since the very start.

The most recent blow came in the shape of an inquiry into the planning application by local government. Ministers have also expressed concern about the prospect of flooding at the site and the impact of a large modern building in the centre of historic Bath. In the meantime, Dyson has been approached by American backers who want to part-fund the school if he will consider building it in the States.

British government says it is keen to reinstate a culture of innovation in this country as it realises this is the key to its future competitiveness. Yet, when faced with an opportunity such as the one presented by Dyson they are quick to find fault with it, due to concerns that it may look out of place. It is about time that ministers started to prioritise what is really important, and Britain’s culture of engineering is just as important as these ancient relics before it is too late and a museum in Bath will soon be the only evidence of these skills.