Stewart Edmondson has been the CEO of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation since 2015. He has a degree in Electronics and a wide range of engineering and training management experience in both the public and private sectors. He has been a Chartered Engineer for over 20 years and is a Fellow of the IET. As a volunteer, he has chaired their Professional Development Advisory Committee. He is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Employability, Professionalism and Ethics at Aston University. He is a member of the UK Government’s Semiconductor Skills Working Group.

The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) was founded in 2010 as the only STEM organisation in the UK devoted exclusively to Electronics and semiconductors. It undertakes skills advocacy and consultancy work on behalf of the UK’s ‘deep tech’ sector. A key aspect of the UKESF’s work is focussed on connecting Higher and Further Education, industry and secondary education. The UKESF has partnerships with 28 leading universities right across the UK. They offer a Scholarship Scheme for undergraduates, which has benefited over 8000 students, preparing them for industry and providing a valuable skills pipeline to UK organisations. In 2022, the Scheme received external recognition, winning a Princess Royal Training Award.

Sound bite:

“We are at a point of strategic inflection for the UK’s semiconductor sector. It is self-evident that technology is the future; technology depends upon semiconductors. However, we know that there is a significant problem. A chronic skills shortage threatens the UK’s ability to compete on the global semiconductor

stage. Focussed education interventions and future workforce programmes with ambition and adequate funding are a must-have if the UK is to fulfil our strategy ambitions in the semiconductor sector.”