Editor
The Engineer
Although the sector frequently beats itself up about salaries and public perceptions – engineering is in fact spectacularly well placed to appeal to young people.
The never-ending skills debate has loomed large recently. And The Engineer has examined in detail the pressing need for skilled graduates, the importance of apprenticeships, and industry’s demand for more experienced engineers.
But it’s arguably the need to enthuse school children about a career in engineering that’s the most critical and challenging piece of the skills jigsaw: if we fail to instil an early years understanding and enthusiasm for the engineer’s role, then all other efforts will amount to little more than papering over the cracks.
Unfortunately, difficulties gauging the impact of efforts, which will only bear fruit several years later, can be off-putting for both businesses – who want change now – and politicians, who don’t typically look beyond the end of their parliamentary careers.
”Though it may be hard to measure, industry has no choice but to hurl itself into engagement with children and younger students.
That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t some extremely valuable initiatives out there. The Tomorrow’s Engineers program – which is jointly run by Engineering UK and The Royal Academy of Engineering – does some valuable work with schools, and a number of our larger engineering firms run very popular outreach programs. Meanwhile, the most conspicuous effort of all perhaps, the annual Big Bang Fair, opens its doors tomorrow (13th March).
Now in its sixth year, and therefore approaching the point where early visitors might be entering industry, the Big Bang’s armies of excited school-age visitors and enthusiastic industry exhibitors are positive signs that it has an audience that’s listening and an industry that’s keen to talk.
What’s more, though the future pipeline of engineers may not yet have bubbled to the surface, there are encouraging signs that recent initiatives might be having an impact. For instance, according to a recent survey conducted for the government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the number of 11 – 14 year olds considering a career in engineering has risen by six per cent. It seems unlikely that this is just a coincidence.
Ultimately, though it may be hard to measure, industry has no choice but to hurl itself into engagement with children and younger students.
And it’s worth remembering that, although the sector frequently beats itself up about salaries and public perceptions, engineering is in fact spectacularly well placed to appeal to young people.
Offering a host of genuine opportunities to do something interesting and exciting, something that can help make the world a better place, it is one of the few professions that can truly and honestly speak to the optimism and idealism of youth.
The Big Bang fair (which is held at the NEC, Birmingham) runs from Thursday 13th March to Sunday 16th. The organiser tells us that for the school days on Thursday and Friday you need to book and it’s best to book for the family weekend but there will be the option to walk up. You can register on the website: http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/
Perhaps Engineers of the future should have some training in business, accounting etc so that they are better prepared to be entrepreneurs or to reach management positions?
@ Timothy
Why exactly do we need more engineers to be prepared to reach management positions?
That is the exact opposite of what we need.
The anecdotal evidence from people here and elsewhere has repeatedly stated that the skills gap has been in part driven by the large numbers of engineers leaving the profession to become managers. Furthermore I have never heard anyone complaining that our economy is likely to suffer due to a shortage of managers.
Yes we do need our engineers to have commercial awareness, but we definitely do not need our engineers to be managers.
As for entrepreneurs, generally I have seen that the training is available for those who want it, and the engineers best placed to become entrepreneurs will seek it themselves. Whilst we should be encouraging more young people to follow this route, I believe it would be counter-productive to subject all new students to it.
Telonic is small company in the electronics industry. We have just recruited our 3rd apprentice – he loves working with us and enjoys his day at college.
Most of us here are ex apprentices and have had fantastic careers in electronic engineering both in the UK and overseas.
And at 72 this ex apprentice has no wish to retire – I am enjoying being in the electronic engineering industry too much!
If engineers do not understand product costs, design and manufacturing logistics what kind of engineer will they be?
Business skills are vitally important for engineers, particularly design engineers.
It’s very rare that the engineer gets to solve a problem or address a market need without cost or time constraints. The last time was when the Americans put a man on the moon!
Therefore some understanding of costs and project management, at least, is necessary to be a successful engineer.
The best way to get kids interested and engaged with engineering is to get them involved with practical projects – at school, in clubs, at home, wherever. The kids will suck in the knowledge they need to do the project, learning fast and learning well. And they get into a way of thinking about things in an engineering ‘how could this work’ ‘how can I make this better’ way, and get a ‘feel for stuff’ which will make them great engineers in the future.
I somewhat disagree with David C. While not all engineers become managers, indeed only a fraction do, it has been the habit wherever I have worked that the promotion is not accompanied by any kind of training or mentoring into the new role. Thus we have a system where you get promoted until you reach your natural level of ability, plus one. I am keen to take my career to the next level and start supervising teams and colleagues but am keenly aware that I may turn out to be hopeless at this, and a part of the reason will be lack of the necessary skills.
People may not be complaining about a shortage of managers, but they do complain about a shortage of good ones.
I’m a Design Engineer and have been for 25 years. It’s a job I enjoy doing, it’s what I always wanted to do, and it’s a job I’m good at. It’s probably one of the positions which carry the highest amounts of responsibility. I design the products which the company sells to generate the revenue to pay the inflated salaries of the overheads who bring very little to the party (assorted managers, accountants, leaders, etc.). I look at these overheads and two things strike me. Firstly, they are all paid more than I am, and secondly in most cases, with an Honours Degree and an MSc, I am better qualified to do their job than they are!
Despite my experience and qualifiactions, I am not even included in the list of ‘professionals’ who are authorised to sign a passport photo – a list which included estate agents. This demonstrates the level of ‘esteem’ in which Engineers are held.
Until companies realise the value of Engineers to the business as a whole and pay them accordingly, I wouldn’t recommend it as a career to anyone who wants a comfortable lifestyle. A realistic salary would help stem the flow of (good) engineers into management, sales, marketing, etc, and would generate interest from youngsters. But then the whole country is run by accountants and Engineers are just expendable overheads, arent they?
@ John Harrison
Well according to my reading of the rules chartered engineers are allowed to sign passport applications, I have signed a couple for other people in the past. I believe both were acceptable to HMGov.
This article discusses one means of addressing skills shortage, but pay and perception in the wider public are also important. Until these other two issues are addressed by one means or another many trained engineers will continue to leave the UK or leave the profession at the earliest opportunity.
Absolutely brilliant comment John.
I have copied it and pinned it to our noticeboard!
We ARE a forgotten generation , unlike our fathers who had the respect due to them , and were valued by society as a whole .
Engineers engineers engineers that’s all we hear!!!
Its skilled craftsmen/women, technicians, skilled trades people who are motivated well paid that we need more of. To turn the (you know the highly intelligent no common sense degree “Engineers”) ideas into practical workable solutions.
It will not work unless you have one without a multitude of the other!
I will leave it to you to decide which of the two we need the most of.
Yes there is a shortage of experienced engineers.
What’s wrong with that?
I retired eight years ago after 50 years full employment and I’m still working, consulting and earning more than I ever dreamed of for a few hours a week on a computer in the back bedroom.
Long may it last. Then you too may be able to take advantage of if…………….Don’t knock it, exploit it!
@David C. I’m not an engineer – only a programmer – but I note that in my profession we are often managed by people who don’t understand what we do and the results are appalling waste and failure.
I note that very successful companies e.g. Google and Facebook were started and are run by people who do know what programming is about and this is reflected in the way they hire people and the environment that their employees work in.
I was thinking that perhaps Engineering needs the same thing – engineers who can wrangle business well enough to create good businesses that other engineers will be delighted to work for.
Did I miss the boat ? I read the article as addressing providing 11-14 year old STUDENTS with some engineering orientation thereby allowing STUDENTS to consider careers in engineering! In life our decisions start at 3 years and are 90% set by teenage years. Some comments sound like we just push STUDENTS were we want when we want without orientation – don’t work, hasn’t ever worked ! Wake up educators, please.
Fellow Bloggers might enjoy a recent letter to the Times
Dear Sir,
* Big Bang Exhibition at NEC to encourage school children to study Science/Engineering and join the real wealth-creating economy[average salary for graduates £34,000 pa]
* Bloody Sunday inquiry cost £119 million and took 12 years [whatever happened to its value Engineering and efficiency]
* QC is to be paid ( at a reduced rate?) of £3,000 per hour to find out if Libor rates were ‘fixed’ by Bank of England Staff in cahoots with other banks?
* Defense Barristers and solicitors on strike for more pay? [apparently trying to correct or cover-up the prosecuting lawyers errors is worth more that £68,000 pa ie X2 of normal Engineers salaries
Four recent articles in the Times:
just who is trying to pull the wool over who’s eyes?
As long as this legal ‘free-for-all’ goes unchallenged, who should any youngster (guided by their parents, school or whatever) wish to be any part of the real economy.
Wake me up when sanity returns, if it ever does or will
Mike Blamey
One of the greatest contributions this magazine could make to inspiring the next generation is to stop printing letters containing totally unfounded crap about poor pay and lack of status.
If you don’t like the profession, get out, we real Engineers will be far better off without you.
Pay is a huge issue in engineering. When other countries pay their engineers far more it is a big concern. We lose a lot of engineers to other sectors and abroad. Just in the UK we lose 30% of our male engineers and 50% of our female engineers within 3 years of graduation. At least half the year I have graduated with many years ago have left engineering. They have gone into finance, logistics, pilot of aircraft, management or moved abroad. Everyone I have spoken to that have moved abroad have done so for pay and status.
The status part plays on the image. The issue is most people think an engineer is someone that comes to fix your boiler. It is hard to differentiate between this unless you become a chartered engineer, but then I suspect most don’t fully understand this.
Yes another stream of comments on status- Especially between Lawyers and Engineers.
Just for fun why not have a balloon debate at The Engineers Conference – Have a (brave) Lawyer a chartered Engineer, (a journalist?) and a Medic each make the case for why their profession should have the higher status.
Done the right way it might actually take this discussion forward. I’d happily chair.
Woodward & Bernstein
Add a politician to the list.
apropos journalists: Not everyone! They surely perform a vital role holding our leaders -local, national, international and in firm, company, administrative unit to account -well don’t they? I used to own a trade publication and recall its editor(s) advising me that his primary role was to report gossip around the parish pump.
Apropos lawyers:
Some years ago, as an academic exercise, I arranged for a lawyer to sue my wife and I for libel. This was to expose a commercial rape that he and others were attempting. We defended ourselves. The lawyer who sued us was supported in total by 2 QCs and a raft of other solicitors, including our own: who changed sides when it suited his interests and pocket! The lawyer who sued us did not realise we had arranged the case, until he spent two days in a witness box being questioned (amateurishly but VERY effectively) by two graduates of Engineering (me) and Chemistry & Mathematics(Mrs B) He twisted and turned so much he met himself coming backwards (read it again if you didn’t get it the first time!)
The settlement requested – after a meeting he called with the Judge( who made some deadly interjections) by the barrister (a QC and now a Liberal Lord) who started off against us required the solicitor who was suing us to give evidence on our behalf in an action for professional negligence we were able to bring under court Order against our own former solicitor. About the most amazing turn round in the history of the Courts, achieved by two amateurs against the entire might of the N West lawyer establishment, formidably aroused: as they had every need to be because we put them on trial, on their ground, using their silly rules and beat them soundly.
The only thing professionals have to fear when taking these Bas**rds on is fear itself! The standard of ‘evidence’ lawyers offer -when challenged as we did- would be laughed out of a GCSE level exam or test, if offered there, let alone any level higher.
More to follow if our Editor wishes. As I have pointed out in many posts: I did not sit by and say ‘isn’t our status as Engineers terrible’ I set out to demonstrate just how absurd the ways and means of unelected, unchallenged, unchecked (until we did!) lawyers maintaining control over the rest of us actually are.
best
Mike