THERE has been a recurring topic in the Agenda section and elsewhere in The Herald in recent years, from concerned people in the real world of wealth creation and the contribution by Alastair O’Brien of Lockheed Martin is no exception (“Threats to economy that stem from shortage in technology related skills” , The Herald July 31) .

Mr O’Brien rightly warns us of the long-term consequences of failure to urgently address the growing problem of a lack of young people gaining the skills required for 21st century technology. He states: “To properly protect against an ever-expanding skills gap there needs to be a culture shift in our education system. We need to work with education institutes to better promote Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills as well as fostering curiosity, problem solving and creativity and promoting closer relationships with businesses”.

I agree, as I know do many others, with the need for the culture shift he advocates but fear that the underlying cause is so systemic it has almost become pathological. For example, many of the people in power in education are very often representative of the post-war surge in opportunities for working-class school leavers to go on to university. Gaining an academic degree, they moved into the world of education, often through the classroom they had only recently left. Having found themselves now uplifted into the middle-class establishment they naturally envisaged academic study as the one true path to success and enlightenment for the able youngster with potential.

This incestuous world will remain with us until our engineers and technologists are positively encouraged to reach positions of real influence. I feel that the Scottish Government continues to view percentages of school leaver destinations in superficial terms of faceless statistics. The skills gap can only be closed if incentives are provided to positively discriminate in favour of areas of study which apply Stem skills and away from some trendy subjects which are weak on function and substance. Otherwise we will continue to misguide many of our talented young people into educational routes with little utility and which lead to them unexpectedly working in coffee shops and bars.

Bill Brown,

46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.