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Back by popular demand, this topic remains a core part of the IMechE Focus portfolio thanks to its strong alignment with the Institution’s purpose: developing future engineering talent and supporting skills, knowledge, and professional practice across the community. How do we attract, train, and retain the best engineering talent? Join discussions on workforce development, skills gaps, and the future of engineering recruitment. According to Engineering UK, estimated shortfalls of qualified engineers and technicians stretch to 59,000 per year in the UK alone. Combined with rapid technological advancements, evolving skill demands, and a shifting workforce landscape, prompt action is needed to secure the next generation of engineering talent. Aimed at engineering employers and practising engineers, the webinar series focuses on the skills needed to future proof engineering, and how to have a successful engineering career.
Additive Manufacturing is increasingly used in applications where reliability, repeatability, and traceability matter. In such environments, the success of additive manufacturing depends as much on skilled people as it does on advanced machines. Recruitment and development of talent in this rapidly evolving field requires an understanding of what skills are needed and how they can be demonstrated. This webinar will provide an overview of current AM training and personnel qualification schemes, and identify gaps in existing pathways and discuss how these gaps affect recruitment, career progression, and industrial confidence in AM technologies.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Monday, 27 April 2026
Speaker David Hardacre, Founder, Hardacre Solutions Ltd
Moderator To be confirmed
A panel session on the subject of Safety Leadership for Engineers, particularly as engineers grow into management and leadership roles. This is of great relevance for high hazard industries such as Oil, Gas, Chemicals, Nuclear and industries where customer safety is paramount such as Railway and Automobile.
Details 15.30 - 16.30 BST Monday, 27 April 2026
Speakers James Crossland, Industrial Operations Director, Air Liquide UK Tim Podesta, Independent Consultant
This session reveals what meaningful work experience for young people looks like, plus details on the government ambition for every young person to access two weeks’ worth of work experience. During this session you will hear from The Careers & Enterprise Company, engineering employers, education experts and young people discussing how to deliver modern work experience that both makes a difference to young people and supports employer objectives.
Details 10.00 - 11.00 BST Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Speakers Peter Caney, Head of Early Careers & Skills, BAE Systems Jo Sykes, Director of CEIAG, Co-op Academies Trust Faris Kadeb, Apprentice Project Engineer, Thames Water
Moderator Jelena Gacesa, Education Outreach and Safeguarding Lead, IMechE
Thinking about your next move? Find out what makes BAE Systems a great place to build your career. Join BAE Systems and discover a career with purpose. Your skills and ideas will help protect those who protect us as you pioneer innovative tech-led solutions across defence, aerospace and security. Collaborate with brilliant minds, be trusted to deliver, and thrive in an inclusive culture that values your contribution. With opportunities to shape your career, make an impact while contributing to society, BAE Systems is where you can pioneer change and help secure all our futures. Mechanical engineers design and improve the systems that power our world. This webinar explores career opportunities in the sector, the key technical and professional skills employers value, and the main pathways into the industry. Ideal for aspiring and experienced engineers, this session offers practical insights to help you take the next step with confidence. BAE Systems Careers
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Speakers Cerys Hunter, Mechanical Engineer, BAE Systems Submarines Dr Matthew Carrington, Structures Lead & Technical Authority – Falconworks, BAE Systems Air Sionelle Wilson, Senior Recruiter, BAE Systems, Shared Services
Join our friendly library team to learn how to use the Library Search to access ebooks, articles, and request loans. We will cover:
Details 15.00 - 16.00 BST Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Speakers Sarah Rogers, Head of Information and Library Services, IMechE Ellen Hager, Research and Outreach Librarian, IMechE
Join the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education (FE) campaign for an informative webinar on how qualified mechanical engineers can help shape the future of engineering sector by training others in FE. FE is education for learners aged 16 and over who aren’t in a school or studying for a degree. In settings such as colleges, FE offers diverse opportunities across a range of technical, vocational and academic subjects to help prepare learners for work in their chosen field. Engineering is a key subject area within FE, with colleges seeking professionals to train the next generation in specialisms from including mechanical and automotive engineering, electrical engineering and civil engineering. Join this webinar and find out how you can:
To find out how you can re-energise the next step of your career by training others in FE, register here. Can’t make it? Visit the Department for Education website for more information about becoming an FE trainer.
Details 10.00 - 11.00 BST Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Speakers Andrew Foulks, Deputy Head of Faculty – MCE (Engineering), Truro & Penwith College Sunita Suman, FE Workforce Policy Team, Department for Education
An introduction into what “ATEX” is. ATEX (or more specifically, the ATEX Directives and product standards) provides the rules, guidelines and principles for equipment going into explosive gas or dust atmospheres in Europe (and the UK). If you are interested in the Hydrogen, Oil and Gas, Pharma, or any other sector that could interact with explosive gases or dusts (there are many!) then this will give you an understanding of what ATEX is, and how it is applied to make equipment going into hazardous areas safe and preventing explosions.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Speaker Jonathan Hichens, Training and Operations Director, insightEx Ltd
The lifelong learning entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system to create a single funding system. It will replace:
Details 15.00 - 16.00 BST Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Speakers Johnny Rich, CEO, Engineering Professors Council Richard Coe, Accreditation Industrialist Assessor and Chair of Process Industries Education and Skills Work Group Lydia Amarquaye-Booker, Education & Skills Policy Lead, IMechE
Metamaterials have spent two decades in the nowhere land between physics papers and sci-fi novellas. The technology – imbuing a 3D structure with a response or function that is not possible with conventional materials – seems impractical and its applications impossible. Metamaterials work due to the collective effect of ‘meta-atom elements’, which interact with electromagnetic or acoustic waves including thermal and vibration energy in ways they ordinarily would not. Their mind-bending properties have made them sound like tomorrow’s technology for aeons. But now metamaterials are cropping up in products we already use, and in the policy agendas of countries that see strategic value in controlling the next generation of materials engineering. Prior to 2010, fewer than 1,000 patent applications mentioning metamaterials were made each year. But in recent years, that figure has spiked to nearly 4,000. The reason for this is the increasingly common use of metamaterials in our everyday lives and products. In smartphones, metamaterials engineered with nanoscale patterns can precisely manipulate light waves instead of traditional camera lenses. In speakers, plastic lattices made of metamaterials are stripping away stray sound to make audio clearer. And on rooftops, photonic films made of metamaterials are mirroring unwanted heat from the sun away from the planet. Metamaterials are having a moment – and their future looks bright but the engineering challenge – and how to ensure the UK benefits from its prime position to develop metamaterials – is the subject of a new policy report from IMechE and the UK Metamaterials Network (UKMMN), Unlocking the potential of metamaterials. The report sets out five buckets of work – from funding and skills to standards and scale-up. Join this webinar to discuss one of the aspects of the report: the skills and training required to fully unlock the potential of metamaterials.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Thursday, 30 April 2026
Speaker Tom Allen, Reader in Mechanical Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University
Moderator Antonio Fratini, Chair, IMechE Biomedical Engineering Division, Reader in Biomedical Engineering and Director, Engineering for Health Research Centre School of Engineering and Innovation, Aston University
The webinar will feature an overview of the Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Skills Accelerator, launched in 2025 by the Hydrogen Skills Alliance and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. We will then discuss the opportunities for mechanical engineers in the hydrogen economy, the skills required and training available. There will be plenty of time for questions from the audience.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Friday, 1 May 2026
Speakers Andrew Fisher, Principal Consultant, TÜV Rheinland UK Ltd Jude Knight, Head of Skills for Clean Growth, Cogent Skills
Moderator Maria Felice, Industrial Liaison Manager, High Value Manufacturing Catapult