Why does the UK have a shortage of Engineers?

The UK has a severe shortage of engineers. But why are we faced with this problem?The engineering skill shortage in the UK is a widely debated topic and there are many reasons for this; lack of STEM focus, increasing requirements for scarce-skill disciplines and unglamourised sectors that increase the difficulty of talent attraction.

One of the significant areas of improvement lies within grass roots development but the question is – when should this start?

As a nation we have always been proud of our academic heritage but are we focusing in the right areas? The skills shortage within engineering and technology in the UK is compounded by a lack of undergraduates choosing these disciplines while other countries place greater emphasis on them. China and India are perfect examples of how to promote early talent by encouraging them to take an avid interest and this has been evidenced through funding.

The Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology invested $32bn into STEM education over a 5 year period and India has long been recognised for its commitment to these disciplines. This has resulted in 41% of graduates graduating within a STEM discipline (Ref: Accenture institute for High Performance www.accenture.com )and when we consider the wider impact of this it surely can’t be a coincidence that China has one of the fastest growing economies?

But should STEM promotion start at further education level, priming ‘A’ level candidates for their journey towards a higher qualification or should it commence at grass roots level, ensuring that budding professionals have ample time to make an informed career choice by the time they approach Bachelors stage?

The skill shortage is highly prevalent across most engineering disciplines but key focuses remain on disciplines within the built environment and other highly skilled sectors such as aerospace or automotive.  Many organisations are promoting their grass roots schemes through the reinvigoration of the apprenticeship programme and this is a good starting point as many apprentices join between the ages of 16-21.

I know of one specific engineering firm that has an outstanding apprentice programme and they engage with schools and colleges in the local communities in which they’re based and they provide an excellent platform for aspiring professionals.  This enables them to join schemes that will enhance their understanding of disciplines including civil, mechanical and electrical engineering and provides them with the opportunity to work on global projects although, sadly, this company is in the minority and it has been termed that they are, in effect, ‘training the industry’ with their competitors poaching their newly qualified talent at the end of their course.  This problem will unfortunately remain until other organisations follow suit and the sad part is that the company I am citing will undoubtedly get frustrated with these actions and potentially abolish their own programme.

My father was a pipefitter/welder working on industrial installations across the UK and this was my only exposure to engineering with school based promotions always geared towards IT or business.  It is only now that I am operating as a tertiary partner within the engineering sector that I realise the enormity of engineering’s importance and I am genuinely disappointed that these opportunities were not presented to me more clearly in my formative years.

If you would like to discuss this subject further please contact Dominic Hughes on 01925 747397