Pipe Up: Engineering is missing out on talent

Mark Titterington, chief executive, EngineeringUK:

“The State of Engineering: Engineering UK 2018 shows us that engineering continues to miss out on talent as young people drop out of the pipeline at each educational decision point.  This is particularly true for girls and for people from BME communities and is contributing to underrepresentation in the engineering workforce.

Engineering continues to play a vital role in the UK economy. In 2016, engineering enterprises generated over 23% of the UK’s £5.3 trillion turnover, that’s over a fifth of total UK enterprise turnover. Over a quarter of UK enterprises are involved in engineering, employing more than 5.6million people with water, gas and electricity showing a large increase in the number of engineering companies over the past five years.

Analysis shows annual demand for 124,000 engineers and technicians with core engineering skills across the economy and that the overall annual demand is for 203,000 engineers and technicians with engineering skills. While trends in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education are broadly positive, it’s clear that talent is leaking from the pipeline. This is often because of misperceptions about what engineering is and the skills engineers need. The result is that demand for people with engineering skills is unlikely to be met by supply through the UK education pipeline.

Industry needs to work collaboratively and more closely with education and with policymakers to highlight the exciting opportunities to make a difference in an engineering career and to showcase the range of working environments the industry offers. It’s this that will attract a new and diverse generation of engineers.

EngineeringUK works to inspire tomorrow’s engineers and increase the number and diversity of young people going into engineering. Key to achieving this ambition is bringing together employers and educators to inspire, engage and inform young people from all backgrounds about the wide range of career opportunities in engineering. This works at both regional and national level, where the coordinated development of school engagement strategies are having a real impact.

At The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, companies offer hands-on activities to inspire and inform young visitors and release employees to volunteer to share their career story and professional insights. The practical application of classroom learning, talking to professionals and clear careers information builds knowledge of the industry and improves its appeal. The Big Bang offers that experience to around 80,000 visitors at the UK Fair and over 171,000 young people at smaller events throughout the year.

2018 is the Year of Engineering, I hope that will amplify efforts across the community so we can highlight to young people the exciting world of 21^st century engineering and what it has to offer them. This is how we will harness young people’s talent and enthusiasm to create a diverse engineering workforce in the future.”