Watching one of the engineering courses on the Open University programs on BBC TV (sometimes rather better than "entertainment" progrmming) the statistics quoted were that the rate of engineering development today means that 80% of technology will be obsolete in 10 years.
Refering back into these threads this concept should not be a surprise. The progrm also recomended that all engineers should adopt a lifetime learning plan to remain current and on top of their professions. Something also advocated within these threads.
A last thought (from me) is that we should consider that the transfer of technology is not simply through education. Formal education provides only a part of an engineers training and skills set. The rest is learned on the job. This means that there is an inherent restriction on the technology transfer rate. This is self-evident once considered. Taken together, we again refer to the need to focus on innovation and the honing and development of leading edge skills. For the rest, the lower your education or the simpler your skill set or due to the lack of career learning, don't expect that your job will be "protected" by the natural forces and do not expect it to be protected by legislation.
