The Queen Elizabeth Prize Create the Future report surveyed over 10,000 people across ten of the world’s major economies: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the UK, and the USA. 57 per cent of respondents said engineering is critical in solving the world’s problems, with particularly strong sentiment coming from the UK, USA and Germany.
Sectors where engineers are seen as crucial to advances include renewables, computer technology, infrastructure, healthcare, and online security. Interestingly, people of all age groups agreed that solving the world’s problems should take precedence over the problems of their individual countries.
“As an engineer, I am enormously encouraged to see that the public thinks engineers are capable of solving the world’s greatest problems,” said Lord Browne, chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.
“It is also encouraging to see that people think the priority for engineers should be improving renewable energy and healthcare, not just traditional engineering infrastructure such as bridges and buildings.”
“However, the report also highlights some of the perception problems that the engineering community continues to face. Without combatting the lack of understanding surrounding our profession and changing persistent stereotypes, we will not attract the next generation of engineers to meet the challenges of the future.”
The perception problems referred to by Lord Browne are especially evident in the UK. Of the ten markets surveyed, the UK public was found to be the least interested in engineering. Despite UK participants recognising engineering as a stimulating and rewarding career, this did not correspond to interest in the topic, particularly amongst 16 and 17 year olds. Just 20 per cent in that age group claimed interest in engineering, compared to around 80 per cent in India and Turkey.
Though more men than women in all countries show an interest in engineering, the gap is narrowest in emerging economies. The countries with the greatest gender disparity were the UK, Japan and South Africa.
“Our sector needs to work together to overcome some of the outdated stereotypes and old-fashioned notions that engineering isn’t a career suitable for women,” said Nigel Whitehead, group managing director at BAE Systems.
“We must do more to show all young people, and their parents, that engineering is a great career choice and be bolder about the importance of STEM subjects.”
Going by the headline I was looking forward to an article on engineers being undervalued in society, and perhaps some analysis or wise words of explanation.
Instead it turns out to be an article on how we should improve the ratio of female to male engineers.
Obviously why nobody is claiming authorship.
Anonymous, three sentences define the complete article?
Nigel Whitehead CBE FREng, Group Managing Director, BAE Systems, said:
“Our sector needs to work together to overcome some of the outdated stereotypes and old-fashioned notions that engineering isn’t a career suitable for women. We must do more to show all young people, and their parents, that engineering is a great career choice and be bolder about the importance of STEM subjects.”
Take a few minutes and read the report.
“The Queen Elizabeth Prize Create the Future report”
https://edelmanftp.app.box.com/s/jsk7qz858h1cgz35kjtfj7bed5g70os9
“…and changing persistent STEREOTYPES…”
– AARRGGHH! men in hard hats and high visibilty jackets!!!!
Forgive my generalisations as nothing is absolute, but some say the problem is that the engineer class is famously poor at ‘selling’ itself. Others say that the media class couldn’t be less interested by the world of engineering, after all they are trained in the arts and have little understanding of sciences. Or that the general public are only interested by the famous, such as a footballer, politician (maybe not everyone in this case), a singer…
Now I know that I’m preaching to the converted but consider this: It’s the engineer who will provide the answers to all the material questions man faces, from power generation, to feeding a population >10 billion, to eventually getting of this planet and spreading to the stars. The engineer is the real hero of humanity. So why is the engineer taken for granted? If doctors disappeared tomorrow, humanity would struggle on. If footballers disappeared tomorrow, humanity would do just fine. If politicians disappeared tomorrow a lot of people would cheer (but they would quickly be replaced as this class is synonymous with death and taxes) and humanity would find a way forward. If engineers disappeared tomorrow humanity would be back in mud huts and burning witches by 2050.
Back to the three opening statements; the behaviour of one is inbuilt, the other two are ingrained. However difficult it may prove, it is the latter that must be tackled not the former. The engineer is powerless here, and let’s be honest, we don’t we leave them to get on with what they do best. The media class, specialises in selling ideas, so needs to step outside of their comfort zone, have an epiphany, and show the general public the light. Only when the general public realise who the real heroes of humanity are will Nigel Whitehead get his female engineers (and probably more male ones besides).
I challenge the notion that not enough young people, male or female, are not going into Engineering as a career because they only recognise Engineers from “outdated stereotypes”. Surely if they have the slightest interest in engineered products or the built environment their curiosity would lead them to find out that you can have a stimulating, fascinating, rewarding, enjoyable career that doesn’t necessarily involve wearing a hard-hat or even getting your hands dirty.
When I started my degree in mechanical engineering 40 -odd years ago I did so because I wanted to design or make or develop things. And from that I have had a fantastic career – I’ve not made a fortune, but it has been and still is endlessly rewarding and I am still learning every day.
Are young people today so disinterested in the world around them that they have to be taught what an Engineer does? Surely if they are happy that their iPhones can send tweets or take selfies and don’t care what is inside that makes it work then they haven’t got the fundamental curiosity to be an Engineer anyway.
contribution of (E) engineers to society is undervalued and that they deserve more recognition.
CAPITAL E to start our word…always
We manipulate Nature’s Laws to benefit mankind: others dont? They manipulate mans laws for whoever will pay the most?
I am with JW: fascinating career, still learning (if nothing else that I and other Engineers are daily blessed by being what we are. “He who dies rich, dies disgraced?” -and parables about camels, eyes of needles and so on do strike a chord. Mike B
What’s wrong with “hard hats and dirt”? If it wasn’t for those of us in that field (no pun intended) no one could get to there homes or offices and we’d be back to “horse and buggy” days not to mention the sanitary conditions.
Fascinating having started my career in the 1970’s there was a shortage of engineers. Now I am retired and its the 2010’s and we still have a shortage of engineers.
Now is that a real shortage or a contrived one?
Probably slightly misremembered quote from Richard Bach’s “Illusions”, but the sentiment is right “If your happiness depends on others’ opinion of you, you really do have a problem.”
I’ve never failed to get the respect I’m happy with as an Engineer, and if asked whether I can fix someone’s car, bicycle, etc, I’m more cheerful still, as I usually can! Earning even more respect.
Still, no inferiority complex, no shoulder chips……….