Study: Britain needs more engineers

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LONDON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A report by a British engineering group says the country needs to increase the numbers of science, technology, math and engineering graduates by 50 percent.

The study, by the Royal Academy of Engineering, said while 23,000 students are graduating with technical degrees each year, Britain is falling behind countries like India, which produced eight times as many graduates, and China with 20 times as many, the BBC reported.

The study says 100,000 graduates are needed a year just to maintain the status quo as Britain slips in terms of international innovation.

In terms of U.S. patents registered Britain has dropped to eighth place globally, the study said.

British firms are already having to recruit abroad as the current U.K. pool of science, technology and engineering experts is already "stretched thin" and aging rapidly, experts said.

"Engineering firms are crying out for engineers," Matthew Harrison, director of engineering and education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said.

"They can't get the people they need. Although they have been very very vocal about the subject, it has not translated into public policy yet."