The UK currently faces a staggering shortfall of over 173,000 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers. Such a widening skills gap means that half of all engineering and technology businesses are experiencing difficulties when trying to recruit these workers, with the economic implications costing the UK economy an estimated £1.5bn annually. Worryingly, this is not a new challenge but one that has persisted for 15 years, a duration longer than a primary school student’s entire education.
Dr Paul Gosling, Chief Technical Officer at Thales UK, shared his concerns: “The prosperity of companies like Thales hinges upon the consistent inflow of young, passionate engineers. Both public and private sectors must rally behind initiatives that elevate engineering education. Our future economic landscape will be moulded by today’s students. By laying a robust foundation in engineering, we pave the way for a brighter, more innovative future.”
With international studies confirming that young people in the UK are not performing as well as their peers internationally, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) believes that the solution to the skills gap lies in education. It states that, “adding more focus on misunderstood disciplines like engineering where we know there is a perception problem, will help young people from all backgrounds better understand how STEM can be applied, close the education gap, increase their career aspirations, and develop other skills such as creativity and problem-solving. Future skills need addressing now”.
Such an educational strategy is seen as being an economic imperative to bolster the country’ s resilience. To just keep up with current demands, the UK needs to generate an estimated 59,000 engineers annually, and as highlighted in IET’s recent report called ‘Engineering Kids’ Futures’, it also necessitates early exposure to engineering and nurturing skills from a young age.
Danielle George, former President and Fellow of the IET says: “The engineering community has its part to play. We refuse to stand by and watch our home-grown talent be denied the opportunities that engineering represents.”
To raise engineering’s profile, engagement, and uptake amongst young people in schools across the UK; the IET recommended to the government:
- The English schools’ National Curriculum should be reviewed to embed the teaching of engineering at both primary and secondary levels of education. Without receiving any formal teaching in engineering, young people cannot make informed choices regarding future study or career options in engineering and technology.
- The current Design and Technology curriculum at secondary level needs to be reviewed and possibly rebranded as an ‘engineering and design’ subject. The current subject is suffering from poor pupil uptake, falling numbers of subject specialist teachers, and there is concern regarding its future as a taught subject.
- To increase their confidence in the subject, all primary and specialist secondary teachers should have some exposure to and experience of engineering as part of their initial teacher training.
- Government funded teacher training bursaries and scholarships in engineering need to be reviewed to increase their value, availability, and attraction to potential teachers.
Ultimately the IET says the UK needs to grow its own workforce and adopt a long-term strategic approach to addressing the STEM skills shortage.
Lack of specialist skills
Another international survey by the IET has also revealed that fewer than 4% of engineering companies across eight countries think their organisations have all the necessary skills for resilience to the impacts of climate change.
In a review of engineering and technology skills in the battle against climate change, the survey tracked the opinions of engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US.
There are mixed opinions across all countries as to which skills are most needed to be resilient, from technical/engineering to softer skills like complex problem solving and whole systems thinking. Resilience is especially low in Malaysia and China, where only 1% think they have all of the required skills.
Although many organisations believe that their workforce is agile enough to adapt their skillsets to new technologies and ways of working, it is specialist environmental skills that are lacking, as well as leadership skills – which was identified as the one of the three most common barriers for organisations in meeting net zero in seven countries.
The survey also reveals over two-thirds of companies surveyed have a sustainability strategy, often in order to meet regulations for new markets. However, over 75% of respondents say they still need skills to deliver that strategy, including specialist sustainability skills and knowledge, and technical skills.
Engineering employers surveyed overwhelmingly see collaboration with academia as important for delivering high quality engineering and technology candidates; when asked in which areas that education could improve, every country except Egypt had some form of collaboration in their three most commonly selected answers. These included offering industry placement years, research projects in collaboration with industry and undertaking industry-targeted projects.
“This survey has shown us that there are significant levels of trepidation regarding the potential impact of climate change on engineering employers internationally,” says Dr Gopichand Katragadda, IET President. “The impact is already observable across supply chains, and goods and services becoming unavailable. This has led to greater concern over the skills that organisations are missing to be truly resilient to it.
“We hope that by launching the results of the survey we can bring the engineering skills conversation to the global stage, and encourage participants to see the value of engineers in solving climate change.”
Community support
The Drax Foundation, the charitable arm of renewable energy company Drax Group, is working to support STEM education and community projects and has donated £932,000 to 20 non-profit organisations operating in the UK and North America.
Over 32,000 young people are set to benefit from STEM training, 1,229 hectares of land will be restored or protected, and more than 20,000 individuals will gain improved access to green spaces in their communities.
The Drax Group has also joined forces with Glasgow Science Centre to introduce innovative hydropower education programmes for primary and secondary schools in Scotland. This collaboration aims to enhance STEM skills among students and inspire them to consider careers in the hydropower industry.
Scotland’s hydropower sector is on a growth trajectory. With plans underway to expand pumped storage hydro stations, including Drax’s Cruachan plant, it presents long-term career prospects in the field of renewable energy.
The primary school programme is being conducted through Glasgow Science Centre’s ‘Learning Lab’ and spans four to six weeks. It employs case studies of Drax’s Scottish assets to educate students on the operation of different hydropower forms, including pumped hydro and run-of-river plants. The programme includes class visits to the Glasgow Science Centre or on-site visits by the Science Centre’s On Tour team.
For secondary school students, there are STEM Futures Work Readiness Workshops. These are designed for 15- to 18-year-old students and are conducted at Glasgow Science Centre. Participants collaborate to explore the career opportunities available in the Scottish hydropower sector and the necessary skills for accessing them.
“The learning lab and workshop are pioneering hydropower education programmes that will help students develop their STEM knowledge and hopefully get excited and interested in a career in hydropower,” says Sarah Cameron, Community Manager for Scotland at Drax Group.
While Dr. Stuart Meiklejohn, STEM Futures Project Coordinator at Glasgow Science Centre, says the unique nature of this partnership will deliver invaluable hydro-themed education resources.
The launch of these programmes aligns with the Drax Foundation which recently provided funding for bursaries through EngineeringUK to support underrepresented young individuals in engineering careers. In addition, Drax also offers free educational tours of its Cruachan site in Argyll and Bute for schools. These give insights into engineering careers, pumped storage hydro operations, and how Cruachan contributes to achieving Net Zero targets.
US funding
Meanwhile, over in the US, the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office and Wind Energy Technologies Office have unveiled a US$14.5 million funding opportunity dedicated to foundational research at domestic institutions of higher education. This initiative aims to address challenges faced by the marine energy sector, fostering innovation and development. The funding initiative will support projects across the following four key areas:
- Publicly available data and test platforms, aiming to identify cost reductions and performance improvement pathways for marine energy devices.
- Exploring synergies between offshore wind and marine energy and aquaculture development.
- Supporting undergraduate senior design and/or research projects in marine energy.
- Plus an open topic area, allowing applicants to propose activities addressing marine energy industry needs not covered in other areas.
Author: Suzanne Pritchard
This article first appeared in International Water Power Magazine.
