A pan-engineering industry report has called for efforts to be redoubled to attract more young people into the profession as the number of engineering graduates will be 20,000 a year short of those needed.
The Engineering UK 2017: The State of Engineering report says that there have been some positive signs – engineering and technology degrees are up 9%; England has seen the highest number of engineering-related apprenticeship starts for 10 years; and increasing numbers of 11-16-year-olds would consider a career in engineering.
The comments were made in a joint letter from Malcolm Brinded (chair of EngineeringUK) and Professor Dame Ann Dowling (president of the Royal Academy of Engineering) to accompany the report.
In the letter, the two senior engineers said: “There continue to be real concerns and efforts should be redoubled to improve STEM education, to attract young people into engineering, and to retain, motivate and improve the skills of those already in the industry.”
The report says that the demand for graduates for engineering roles outstrips supply, equating to a shortfall of at least 20,000 annually (and likely higher, depending on assumptions).
“We are highly dependent on attracting and retaining international talent from the EU and beyond to help meet this shortfall: a vital part of post-Brexit policies,” said Brinded and Dowling.
The pair also pick up on the continued lack of women entering the profession, saying: “Efforts to attract girls and women into engineering are falling short: today less than one in eight of the engineering workforce is female; boys are 3.5 times more likely to study A level physics than girls; and five times more likely to gain an E&T degree.”
To address these concerns they recommend:
- Encouraging more pupils to choose STEM subjects and maintain the option of a career in engineering and technology.
- Increased diversity in engineering and technology, through the education system, into and throughout employment.
- Drawing on the talent already in the workforce: increase skills, improve retention, and attract employees from other sectors.
- Enhancing the vital international dimension in UK higher education and subsequent employment.
- Developing an industrial strategy that reinforces and sustains engineering’s contributions to the UK, and recognises and helps to address the STEM skills gap.
