Weathering engineering’s skill shortage

01 November 2007

Recent research, carried out by The Royal Academy of Engineering, has revealed the public has a limited awareness and understanding of engineers and engineering. This ignorance puts the future of British engineering at risk as a lack of fresh talent enters the industry. Nigel Hirst, managing director of Haden Freeman (HFL), looks at the Academy’s research findings and asks what needs to be done to address the lack of understanding of engineering in the UK.

In search of home grown talent: Nigel Hirst
In search of home grown talent: Nigel Hirst

Many of us will have seen reports in the media about The Royal Academy’s research exploring attitudes to and perceptions of engineering and engineers amongst the general public. Participants were drawn to include a mix of demographic characteristics and age groups and the research was conducted in two strands: a quantitative survey and a qualitative workshop. The findings indicate a limited initial awareness and understanding of engineering and engineers, which in turn is affecting recruitment and threatening a skills shortage in the UK, with an increasing number of engineering companies, including HFL, forced to look outside of the UK for qualified engineers.

The research highlighted that initial awareness and understanding of engineers and engineering primarily related to construction and manual professions and that generally ‘engineers fix things’. The word ‘engineer’ was associated with a variety of roles, but predominantly connected to building or fixing things rather than design, innovation or creativity.

Interestingly, respondents recognized that they had a low level of knowledge, often questioning the accuracy of their responses. Many felt that engineering was difficult to define and vague because there are so many types of engineers, it makes engineering confusing for the average person to understand. It was also noted that general misuse of the term to describe other trades meant that there was not a definitive answer. It is notable that the German language uses the word ‘motor’ to describe the thing that powers a vehicle, whereas in English we have traditionally used the word ‘engine’. However, a simple change of word is not going to alter perceptions.

The research confirms what the industry has known for several years – that the UK is at risk of facing a serious skills shortage if the profile of engineering is not addressed immediately. Last year, a survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that no less than 40% of UK companies believed that they were almost certain not to be able to recruit the necessary number of engineers or technicians to meet their needs between now and 2010. UK engineering companies, including Haden Freeman, are now looking as far a field as Brazil to recruit qualified personnel, having already exhausted Eastern Europe. Clearly, this is not ideal and the UK should be developing home grown talent.

So what needs to be done to tackle this problem? One of the key issues is raising awareness. The research identified that respondents with a greater knowledge of the industry had a more positive attitude to engineering and acknowledged that engineers were responsible for providing many of the things people relied upon in their everyday lives. Those without knowledge had more negative views linked to the belief that engineering was, in some way, responsible for some of the key problems in society, such as climate change. These misconceptions have to be corrected as engineering can be vital to addressing environmental issues. For example, HFL is currently constructing the UK’s first recycling plant, in Dagenham, with Australian company Closed Loop. The site will recycle plastic bottles into re-useable packaging materials and is leading the way in ‘green’ initiatives. Solutions like these, developed by engineers demonstrate the potential for large-scale change made possible through engineering expertise.

Promoting understanding and encouraging engagement in engineering has to be done at a young age to secure the engineers of the future. Targeting children at school is crucial to fostering positive perceptions of the industry. The education system needs to support the engineering sector, stimulating interest among young people to get involved at an early age and giving ‘hands on’ experience of the industry. Focussing on science alone can put many students off engineering but using Design and Technology courses and implementing schemes such as the ‘Young Engineers’ competition provide opportunities for practical implementation of engineering and are vital for generating enthusiasm.

Engineering is evident all around us. In every building, road and technology we use, an engineer will have contributed to the development. We need to shout about the work we do. Engineering has many strands, which can make it complex and difficult to understand, but this is also what makes it such a diverse and exciting profession. We need to encourage awareness and promote understanding or the range of skills available. The respondents taking part in the research said taking part had generated an interest in engineering and, as a result, a number suggested they now wanted to delve deeper and gain a greater understanding.

The Royal Academy’s research has been carried out to provide a ‘solid baseline measurement against which to track changes across subsequent years’. The findings issue a warning to the industry and higher authorities that we need to re-address how the public understands engineering. This means changing the way it is taught in schools, creating more opportunities to raise awareness of the discipline and promoting the achievements of engineering. The UK has a strong history and tradition in engineering excellence and we need to ensure we do not lose this through a simple lack of awareness.

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