Sir James Dyson has warned his company is “fighting a losing battle” to tackle Britain’s shortage of science and technology skills after revealing the training school it started had already received 850 applications for 50 places on this year's course. 

Students at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology learn by working alongside the company’s engineers, receive a degree from the University of Warwick and earn a salary but don’t have to pay tuition fees.  

But the entrepreneur told The Daily Telegraph: “The Government has consistently downgraded the importance of design and technology in schools, which is a great shame. And fewer and fewer girls are taking design and technology. So we’re fighting a losing battle there I’m afraid.”

Sir James’s foundation also provides schools with “engineering boxes” including tools and components to help teach children about technology.

He added: “We’ve done what we can in schools and our university is only relatively small, but we hope that idea will catch on and that girls and boys can see engineering, science, software, artificial intelligence, robotics, battery development, are really interesting things to do – and, by the way, a very wealthy thing to do.”

Game-changing Dyson products

Sir James was speaking as Dyson revealed another year of rapid growth. Revenues soared 40pc to £3.5bn in 2017, with 73pc of the growth coming from Asia. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 27pc to £801m.

The entrepreneur, who has spoke out in favour of Brexit, said the UK needed to seize opportunities in fast-growing economies in the Far East and other areas outside Europe.

He said: “Europe has very strict legislation and rules about products. Each country has different plugs, different languages, different marketing. It’s a very difficult market compared with the United States or China, which are very big markets but have a single language and less restrictive rules.”

Dyson’s revenues were boosted by rising sales of Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer, which sells for £300 in the UK, and its pollution-tackling air purifiers.

The company has increased the size of its UK workforce by 2.5 times in the last five years to 4,600. It plans to open a new site this year at Hullavington Airfield, down the road from its headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, which will house engineers working on its plan to launch an electric car.