What are the big issues in engineering right now?

Engineering might play an integral role in shaping the economy but it sure does have a perception problem. It seems topics such as skill shortages, a lack of diversity and political uncertainty are never far away when discussing the state of the industry.

But how are these issues playing out right now?

In this blog we’ve taken some of the best industry insight to examine the bigger picture.

High demand meets skills shortages

Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) stated that engineering generated 25% of the UK’s GDP in 2015 (£420.5bn). 

One of the key drivers of this activity is ongoing investment in national infrastructure.

Engineering 2018: The State of Engineering highlights: “In July 2016, the government major projects portfolio had 143 projects worth over £455bn. Skills found in the engineering footprint are needed for projects in every category in the portfolio.”

So where’s the talent coming from to fuel this boom?

Skills shortages are the bugbear of many engineering firms. And the focus on high-profile projects such as High Speed Two (HS2) and the Thames Tideway scheme has driven even greater demand for skilled engineers.

Meanwhile, a ‘STEM recruitment crisis’ and engineering’s image problem continue to affect the talent pipeline.

Skills shortages are costing the engineering sector £1.5bn per year, according to a study by STEM Learning.

Diversity

It’s an issue that’s not going away. Diversity occupies a lot of column inches and talk in the board room.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, has made her feelings known on diversity in UK engineering.

She told The Guardian: “I feel almost ashamed that I have to go there and talk about the statistics that we have on women in engineering after decades of effort.”

Britain continues to lag well behind its European neighbours with only 10% of its professional engineers being women.

This compares to 30% in Latvia, Cyprus and Bulgaria, with Sweden (26%) and Italy (20%) also have far better records.

Speaking at the Skills Summit 2018, Sillem also pointed out that underrepresentation of Black, Asian and ethic minority backgrounds is “shocking”.

These groups make up 14% of the UK population but only 6% are employed in the engineering sector.

Brexit and political uncertainty

Another of engineering’s hot potatoes. The UK has been heavily reliant on European labour to plug skills gaps but the country’s decision to leave the European Union means this source of skills is under threat.

Data from the Labour Force Survey highlights these concerns. In the first quarter of 2017, EU nationals made up 11.5% of the manufacturing workforce and 8.7% of construction workers.

That compares to a figure of 7.3% when looking at the labour force overall.

And according to a report by the EEF, manufacturing companies have seen a 17% reduction in applications from EU citizens, with a lack of suitably skilled UK staff increasingly hard to find.

Do these issues sound familiar? I’d love to hear how your business is navigating the engineering landscape. Drop me a line at: catharine.potter@bps-world.com.