British civil engineering skills: defusing the time bomb

The UK's civil engineering industry is facing a demographic time bomb. Half the country's chartered civil engineers—a total of 15 000 professionals—are likely to retire in the next ten years. During that period only 6 000 new graduates are expected to join the profession, leaving a shortfall of around 9 000 civil engineers. This paper analyses these alarming statistics and concludes that more funding is needed for domestic civil engineering degree courses if Britain is to avoid becoming reliant on foreign civil engineering skills.