Launchpad gives engineering start-ups free platform

Engineering remains a huge part of the UK economy, contributing about 23 per cent of the UK turnover and employing just under one in five people in the UK workforce. There are many challenges to maintaining and hopefully improving on this formula - not least finding a workable solution to the Brexit conundrum - but one vital piece of the puzzle is ensuring that the engineering wealth-generators of tomorrow are able to grow and prosper.

The UK doesn’t have a great track record in this regard. But there are positive signs that things are changing. In early 2018, research by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub suggested strongly that the UK no longer lags behind the US when it comes to engineering start-ups.

Building on this, however, is vital and there are a number of ways that industry, academia, government and the media can help.

Firstly, it’s time to end the increasingly outdated distinction between engineering and ‘technology’. If the sector is to cast its net wide, tap into the opportunities presented by the blurring boundaries between once distinct area and attract fresh talent, it must address perceptions that it stands apart from other industries.