With the formation of the European Economic Area in 1992, the demand for good technical communicators has grown rapidly. To satisfy that demand under specifically European conditions, courses in technical communication must have high status, be flexible, use distance‐learning techniques, and meet the needs of in‐service communicators. Such courses should concentrate on four skill areas: composition, text‐handling, elicitation (including foreign languages), and specialized technical areas. Courses must also make use of experienced practitioners and be validated by the appropriate professional institutions.

The status and standards of technical communication teaching in universities are much lower than in business and industry. The four main reasons—that scientists and engineers don't know that they have a problem; that they know and don't care; that professional technical communication teaching is confused with basic literacy skills teaching; and that technical communication is not regarded as a legitimate academic subject—have a circularity that is difficult to break. Awareness of the problem is the beginning of an answer, and some examples, gleaned from a sabbatical tour of universities, are given.