IEE Science Education & Management Division: Chairman´s address. The professional engineer in the 1990s

The paper deals briefly with the history of engineering and its recognition as a profession. The growth of professional institutions is traced and their contribution to the education, training and qualification of engineers is explained, with reference to the Council of Engineering Institutions. After a review of the present situation, the roles of professional chartered and technician engineers are considered, with special emphasis on trends and possibilities in the development of engineering, especially electrical engineering, in the final decade of the 20th century. A significant problem is likely to be a decline in the output of engineering graduates; some reasons for this and some possible solutions are suggested in the paper.