Released today on National Engineering Day (5 November), Engineers 2030: Final Report summarises findings from the National Engineering Policy Centre, which includes IMechE as one of 42 partner institutions. Published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the report explores how engineering knowledge and behaviours are evolving and makes recommendations for changes to the skills system.
Designed to establish the approaches and specialisms needed by the UK engineering workforce in the 21st century, the Engineers 2030 project involved events, literature reviews and policy analysis over the last 18 months. It found a “chronic and growing” shortfall in the country’s engineering skills capacity at a time of crucial demand.
Engineering occupations will experience one of the highest rates of employment growth by 2030, according to government agency Skills England, outpacing non-priority sectors by a factor of 1.6. Expected jobs growth in clean energy, defence, digital applications and housebuilding amount to 834,000 additional jobs over the next five years, today’s announcement added, with one in four job adverts now relating to engineering.
The problem is not just the number of engineers and technicians needed, the announcement continued. “The UK does not currently have a skills system in place to develop a workforce with the capabilities, values and support required to succeed in their roles,” it said. Although three-quarters (74%) of engineering employers say advanced digital skills will be critical over the next three years, only two-fifths (39%) are currently prioritising them for training, for example.
The skills system must focus on the future to help meet the UK’s challenges, the report said, and that will involve redefining what it means to be an engineer.
“Education and training must begin with a broad and ambitious redefinition of what it is to be an engineer and technician for the 21st century, ready to respond to future technological development, and societal and environmental need,” the announcement said.
Workers in those professions “are not simply implementers of technology,” the report said. “They are leaders, collaborators and custodians of sustainable progress.”
The UK must invest in a skills system that supports lifelong learning, enables flexible career pathways and embeds inclusive cultures across education and employment to realise this vision, the organisation said.
The report’s 10 recommendations include:
- Development of “dynamic curricula” that reflect the Engineers 2030 vision and principles including resilience, social inclusivity, digital fluency and collaboration;
- Adaptation of training and skills for practising engineers and technicians into “flexible and responsive modules, fundable through the Growth and Skills Levy, which can be stacked into a qualification or skills passport”;
- Removal of barriers for employers providing workers with the development they need, especially for small, medium and ‘microbusinesses’.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is launching a new national engineering and technology Skills Centre to support those aims. It will provide learning resources and materials to colleges and universities, and training support for engineers and technicians in industry.
Today’s report “sets out a bold and necessary vision for the future of engineering and the engineering workforce in the UK,” said Engineers 2030 chair Sir Bashir M Al-Hashimi CBE.
“The perilous skills gap and diversity challenge faced by engineering in the UK is decades old and will never be adequately addressed by the current education and skills system. Complex and evolving skills challenges mean employers cannot recruit individuals with the right mix of skills, particularly in areas critical to UK strategic priorities, like digital transformation, the transition to net zero and infrastructure renewal.
“The UK must invest in a future-facing education and skills system that supports lifelong learning, enables flexible career pathways and embeds inclusive cultures across education and employment. Only then will it be equipped with a workforce of engineers and technicians who are trusted by the public and able to respond adequately to national and regional needs, and to solve the challenges facing society, such as climate change, sustainability and social equity.”
Engineers 2030 “is not the end of a conversation”, he continued: “It is the beginning of necessary and overdue change. Acting on its recommendations will require coordinated action across government, industry, education providers and engineers themselves.
“The government's recent Post-16 Education and Skills white paper and Clean Energy Jobs Plan include some welcome new changes that will help, and the academy is embarking on its own major new initiative – a Skills Centre to provide a focal point for multi-sector collaboration at scale to address this gap.
“We invite all stakeholders to act with urgency and ambition, to grow an engineering workforce that is resilient, reflects the values and diversity of the society it serves, and is able to drive innovation, prosperity and sustainability for generations to come.”
The report incorporates insights from employers, educators, engineers and technicians.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.