Protected status

I have been involved in engineering all my life, starting off as an apprentice toolmaker in 1955, eventually becoming a lecturer in production engineering at a technical college.

During my career I have always been passionate about engineering. I still am. However, in this country anybody can call themselves an engineer (in relation to washing machines, televisions, plumbing and so on). Whereas in Germany the title ’engineer’ is protected by law, where an engineer has the same status as a doctor or surgeon.

What I feel we need to do is to make the British public aware of our total reliance on engineers and the engineering industry for life as we know it. By this I mean all branches of engineering; production, mechanical, electrical, electronic, chemical, civil, automotive, marine and aeronautical to name but a few.

I have made a sticker that is on the wall in my office and on the rear window of my car. It reads: ’Life as we know it would collapse without engineering — think about it.’

Peter Birt, Kent