Britain is short of up to 50,000 engineers, according to former Oxford Instruments chief executive Sir Peter Williams, now chairman of a new umbrella body for the engineering profession.

The Engineering and Technology Board, which he heads, was formed in January to take over from the now-defunct Engineering Council.

Sir Peter said young people were not attracted by a profession which had a negative image associated with run-down factories.

He said: "I consider 'engineer' as a verb, meaning to develop something using technology that satisfies people's needs."

Because engineering and technology touched on so many facets of commerce, the definition of engineering companies should be broadened to include not just businesses that made engineering products, but groups such as GlaxoSmithKline and Royal Dutch/Shell that were big users of technology, he said.

Of the estimated 2m people in high-level engineering jobs, only 160,000 are formally registered as professional engineers.

Sir Peter wants the figure to rise, both to underline the economic importance of engineering and to give his organisation a more solid platform.

The £5m-a-year cost of running the ETB is paid for by companies, the Department of Trade and Industry and fees paid by registered engineers.