I don't think we're in a crisis. You need only look at the figures showing that program enrolment is up. Over the past few years, our field has seen slightly higher enrolment than the university system across the board. It's a sign we've been able to get more young people interested in engineering careers.
We were just talking about graduate studies. In that area, we do indeed have a challenge on our hands: attracting more Canadian students to our master's and Ph.D. programs in engineering. Today, we have more than 20,000 students registered in master's and Ph.D. programs in engineering. The problem, however, is the very high proportion of foreign students, 35% to 40% on average. They come from around the world, and many of them go back home after finishing their studies. So we are not necessarily benefiting. There is some benefit in that a percentage of those students end up staying in Canada. Many of them, however, go back to their home countries. Attracting more Canadians to our graduate programs is a challenge.
The challenge we have stems from the fact that a Canadian student has to decide between graduate studies and the job market. Going to school means making financial sacrifices. I don't think every student with the potential to pursue graduate studies will choose to take those financial risks.