Opinion | New plan needed
Why we need a new plan for securing the future of the engineering profession
Engineering and technology are vitally important for the UK, with huge opportunities and responsibilities over the coming years. But we continue to face workforce challenges that prevent us from reaching our full potential.
HILARY LEEVERS
Engineering accounts for 19% of jobs in the UK but 25% of job adverts, with jobs in civil engineering growing at a faster pace than those in engineering overall.
The engineering workforce also lacks diversity across many dimensions including ethnicity, socioeconomic status and disability.
Furthermore, under-representation is greatest for women, who make up just 16.5% of the workforce.
Things are more promising for civil engineering as 22% of higher education undergraduates are women (compared with 18% across engineering), although there is still a long way to go given that 57% of all undergraduates are women. Furthermore, 33% of civil engineering undergraduates are from minority ethnic backgrounds (the figure is 34% across engineering), above the undergraduate average of 28%.
Apprenticeships are another important route into civil engineering. We do not currently have the full breakdown across engineering disciplines, but we will soon be publishing a report on how we can improve apprenticeship uptake and diversity.
EngineeringUK’s vision is for the UK to have the diverse workforce needed for engineering and technology to thrive, to drive economic prosperity, to improve sustainability and to achieve net zero. This vision leads the new five-year strategy that we have just launched. It is ambitious and we are acutely aware that we can only succeed by working in partnership.
We are proud to collaborate with hundreds of organisations across the sector including professional engineering institutions, such as the ICE. The work we do would not be possible without funding from their professional registration fees (shared with the Engineering Council), as well as support from our corporate members.
Our new strategy focuses on four key areas: research and evidence, leadership, activities for schools and advocacy.
First, our research and evidence give us good insight into the workforce’s current and future needs. And our evaluations help build understanding about which engagement activities really work to inspire the next generation of engineers. We will continue to share our evidence widely, to help ensure that policy development is better informed and that engagement and careers activities are delivered in an inclusive and impactful way.
“EngineeringUK’s vision is for the UK to have the diverse workforce needed for engineering and technology to thriveSecond, we lead efforts to grow the collective impact of all engineering and tech inspiration and careers activities for schools, learning from others and driving collaboration to improve the quality of engagement. This includes our Tomorrow’s Engineers resources and activities.
We also manage The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code which has over 250 signatories pledging to collaborate to improve their engineering engagement activities. By working together, we can ensure more students participate in quality engineering and tech experiences through improving the coordination, inclusivity, targeting and impact of engagements.
We are also expanding our own activities for schools to reach more diverse young people and ignite a passion for engineering and technology.
Finally, we advocate for the real policy change necessary to ensure all young people get the quality science, technology, engineering, mathematics and careers education they need and deserve, and we will continue to champion vocational routes.
- Hilary Leevers is chief executive of EngineeringUK