Skills chief tells engineers to 'be loud and proud'

Sector is reticent to talk-up its achievements, says Semta boss

Engineers must start shouting about their achievements if the sector is to gain a higher profile, the chief of the Semta skills organisation has said.

Ann Watson, chief executive of Semta, said that the engineering community was guilty of ‘hiding lights under bushels’.

In a speech in London, she said: “As an engineering community we need to stop hiding our lights under bushels, start blowing our own trumpets and herald what a fantastic career engineering can be.”

Praising the innovative 1000mph ‘Bloodhound’ car - preparing to break the land speed record - she said that the project epitomises the brilliance of British engineering which should be shouted about.

“This is British engineering at its peak, leading the world and pushing back the boundaries of what is achievable by man and his machines. Without people with the right skills, however, this project would never have come to fruition.”

Engineering needs a resurgence the length and breadth of Britain – from Scotland to Cornwall, said Watson, but she warned that the looming skills crisis could cost the country £27 billion per annum.

Watson said she believed that young people needed better educational advice to inform them of the wonders await in a career in engineering – and mourned the loss of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) graduates choosing careers outside the sector.

“The problem we have is that too many are choosing to apply their skills outside of Stem sectors. More than 12,000 engineering graduates are working in financial services, for example - that’s undoubtedly good news for financial services!”