The number of students seeking places in third-level engineering and technology courses has fallen this year, despite high-profile attempts to tackle a skills crisis facing the sector. The latest Central Applications Office (CAO) figures show a 5 per cent drop in the number of first-preference applications for engineering and technology in 2017, despite the need for more skilled graduates in these fields. Applicants are instead being drawn towards college courses linked to most areas of the growing economy, with increases in demand for architecture, construction, law and business-related courses. When it came to first preferences at honours-degree level, the construction sector saw an 11 per cent increase on last year’s figures. Architecture saw an increase in applications of 7 per cent. Latest CAO figures show the number seeking colleges places in 2017 has remained static following last year’s record number of just over 76,000. Dublin City University (DCU), which recorded its highest-ever level of applications (almost 6,000 students selected one of its undergraduate programmes as a first choice), bucked the trend with regard to engineering courses. First preferences for DCU’s electronic and computer engineering were up by more than 80 per cent and applications for biomedical engineering courses were up just over 61 per cent. Its common-entry engineering also rose, with an increase of 16 per cent.