Not helped by nationalisation and unions, the brain drain was well underway and Europe was already on its missions to break our industries one at a time. Could we have avoided it? Who knows. At the end of the seventies I wanted to be an engineer and my dad wouldn’t let me, “There is no money or future in engineering in this country.” Were his words. Well I ended up an engineer anyway. When it is in your blood, you just have to go with it.
On a more positive note, engineering is having something of a resurgence in the UK, mostly top end but hopefully a brighter futée is there to be had.