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The phrase ‘decline of engineering in the UK’ has sadly become so well used that it has almost achieved parity with ‘it doesn’t snow like it used to’.
The phrase ‘decline of engineering in the UK’ has sadly become so well used that it has almost achieved parity with ‘it doesn’t snow like it used to’ – most people agree with the sentiment without readily being able to quantify exactly how diminished it is.
In fact, it is perfectly possible to argue that even if the UK’s manufacturing is a much smaller entity, engineering as a discipline is still healthy, albeit a very different beast to 25 years ago.
Of course, the most vital component of UK engineering is its engineers themselves, who are working across the globe on every imaginable type of project. Happily, engineers from other nations are also flocking here to be educated and trained and many more look to the UK to achieve the professional standards they need to carry out their work.
This globalisation of engineering has prompted the Engineering Council to drop the UK from its name, reflecting the fact that a quarter of those on its register now work outside the country and some 15 per cent are not British citizens at all.
The change of name will probably be neither here nor there to most people, but it is reassuring to remind ourselves that the UK remains a formidable global centre of engineering talent whose standards and qualifications are still highly respected.
Engineers from the UK have taken their skills abroad for generations. If the rest of the world stopped wanting what they have to offer, we really would be in trouble.
Andrew Lee, Editor
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Readers' comments (15)
Paul MacLean - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 1:17 pm
I agree partly with the National asset article. Yes, Engineers from the UK are sought after, but mainly outside the UK. Foreign Engineers respect the best training, which the UK provides for now. However, as manufacturing is torn piece by piece from the UK, it follows that the need for Engineering skills will also diminish and be lost forever. I personally have been fortunate to work in many industries during 32 years in engineering, from shipbuilding to automotive and now in medical devices, as all of the other industries have been decimated. Successive governments have not recognized that the rot needs to be stopped now and the trend reversed to bring manufacturing back to the UK. We can't merely rely on white collar Finance to keep the UK afloat; at least they recognize this yet continue to pour billions into the financial black hole. I would love to see made in Great Britain on products again, which would in turn make Britain Great once more, instead of staring at the possibility of an empty shell of a third world country.
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Chris Hodrien - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 1:37 pm
Personally, I think it is strategically very bad business for 'UK plc' to be training thousands of students from our competitor countries (in which, sadly, I participate for money) and also for our SME's to be exporting cutting-edge technology for cash.
These factors will allow rival economies to compete with us even better in future years, in return for some paltry short-term cash from student fees, which is not something for the government to 'celebrate'.
If the government funded our universities properly to teach British students (regardless of race/origin) in larger numbers - and ceased treating them like competing businesses - they would not need to seek the higher foreign student fees to balance their books.
Regards,
Chris (R.C.) Hodrien
Solihull
Principal Technical Consultant,
Expansion Energy Ltd (EEL)
Visiting Fellow,
Dept of Biological Sciences
University of Warwick
Research Associate,
Process Technology Group
Dept of Engineering Science
Oxford University
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Katie Robinson - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 2:17 pm
If I could rewind time and choose my degree again, it would probably be in accountancy rather than Mechanical Engineering.
It saddens me that there is no governmental support for UK based manufacturing.
The 'scrappage' system was a farce with shaky environmental reasons.
I have watched most of my former classmates move into other industries and watched small suppliers go into liquidation over the last 10 years.
I am allowed to sign passport forms, which surprises people when I explain my professional qualifications. It is going to take a generation to change the government and public opinion of a great industry.
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Andrew Porter - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 2:19 pm
With students now self-funding their higher education in the UK, is there a case of degree subjects outside of engineering becoming more popular, if the required period of study to become a Chartered Engineer is now that much longer?
We may, as the article suggests, be rather more dependent upon students from outside the UK to support this sector of higher education within the UK than may be appreciated.
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John Jay - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 2:32 pm
As the first industrial nation, it was always likely the UK would be the first to see its manufacturing decay.
However, I doubt many of those who remember everything from shoes to ships being made by British firms (in large numbers) would have expected such a sharp decline.
Unfortunately, this country's engineering reputation lives mostly in the past.
Decades of ignorant government, weak management and sometime combative unions saw to it.
It’s no surprise ‘UK’ has been dropped from the Engineering Council’s title: the glory days mostly belong in history.
Major changes in industrial policy, technical education and the focus on finance (as the primary wealth creator) are needed. Without these, there will be insufficient opportunity to make things better. Unless we have an engineer as prime minister one day, I can’t see things changing much. Maybe James Dyson should have a go at politics?
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Greg - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 4:36 pm
It seems to me that just like in the US, young English people want to "do business" or go into finance. Lots of prestige, dark suits, crackberries, conferences, lunches with clients, insider trading for quick money, etc.
There is no prestige in being an engineer. In Latin America, engineers are addressed by the title "Ingerio ____". We all know how much engineers are worshipped in Asia.
Add to that the response to outsourcing. Both the UK and the US no longer just outsource cheap goods, we outsource chip design, software design, bridge design, power grid design, etc. This not only robs us of valuable skills for the future, it puts national security in the hands of corrupt third world despots with armies of engineers building our lives. Who remembers the Eloi and Morlocks?
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Don Pratt - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 4:59 pm
As a major exporter we have rarely raised trade barriers to imports. We watched as Japan ate our motorcycle industry. They licked their lips on our car industry yet what do we export to Japan? But does this matter? Nissan and Toyota have factories in the UK employing UK labour. This is what matters. Unemployment in the UK is just too high. UK manufacturers should be helped to create jobs for UK workers. Rather than paying unemployment benefits the money should be used to create manufacturing jobs in the UK. This should be done with great care. Money was given for wind turbine research then hundreds of jobs axed to ensure jobs elsewhere. All new build energy projects in the UK should be carried out by UK labour. Vestas, Siemens, Westinghouse may have the knowhow but if they want to sell in the UK they should manufacture in the UK. We should take an example from the USA.
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Rob Barker - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 5:23 pm
UK Engineers are some of the best in the world, but why do they seek work overseas? It may be because in other countries they are held in high esteem, like doctors and lawyers and other professionals. Engineers would appear to be seen as second class to the bankers and money men of the city, but these men and women have failed to create long term wealth. The fact is Engineers have a healthier concept of wealth creation. They know the true meaning of creating a product with added value to create true wealth. I believe in the next 10 years in the UK the true value of Engineers will once again be realised.
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David - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 5:39 pm
Has anyone else noticed that most practicing Engineers are over the age of 40?
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Simon Martin - National asset | 11 Nov 2009 11:44 pm
Many excellent points have already been made from a broad spectrum of engineers from differing backgrounds. We need engineering within the UK, pure and simple, and we need to ensure the next generation of engineers are trained to avoid the shortfall.
The decline of engineering within the UK is so dramatic that I doubt anyone could give an accurate figure, merely what they perceive as an educated guess.
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