I'd have thought that the biggest selling point right now is the huge increase in degree course fees that's about to happen.
Also however, I think that if the industry shows youngsters an objective, a career route, and that technician route engineering offers long term prospects at-least as good as doing a degree, AND makes entry to the profession reasonably selective, then there really will be no problem.
Back in "the day", entry to aeronautical engineering apprenticeships was far more difficult to achieve than onto most degree courses now; and the people who did the better apprenticeships (RAE, Westlands, BAe, Halton...) often went on to run the industry. A return to that semi-elite status would be the best thing we can do.
G