What’s happening
On the rise
Issued recently, the Engineering Council’s annual registration statistics for 2010 show a dramatic increase in the number of new registrants last year.
Compared to 2009, there was an increase of 26% in the number of new Chartered Engineers (CEngs), a 64% increase in Incorporated Engineers (IEngs), and a 12% increase in Engineering Technician (EngTech) registrations. This represents the second year of growth for both IEng and CEng and the sixth consecutive year that the number of new EngTechs has risen.
Tomorrow’s world
More than 640,000 STEM-related jobs needed to ‘secure tomorrow’s workforce’
The Smallpeice Trust has released a report stating 640,000 jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sectors will be created or vacated within the next six years – highlighting the need to reduce the skills void.
The report, ‘Securing Tomorrow’s Workforce’, looks at the rise of low carbon industries and the future of STEM careers, and estimates that at least 400,000 of these jobs needed by 2017 will have a focus on low carbon technologies and practices.
A key finding of the report was that the green economy will boom in coming years as developed countries seek to adapt to global energy challenges. With this boom, hundreds of thousands of green jobs could be created, establishing the UK as a world leader in the growing global market for low carbon technologies.
However, the report found that with new industries recruiting and an ageing workforce retiring, the country is facing a real deficit of much needed qualified and educated professionals. It is now crucial that sufficient investment is made in developing green skills and that young people be introduced to careers in STEM sectors if the UK is to become a true leader in the global low carbon economy and not be overtaken by international competitors.
Encouragingly, the report states that the number of STEM graduates is increasing year on year with 7.7% growth since 2002, however, this is far behind the rate of general graduate growth at 21.7% and is significantly lower than needed to meet industry requirements.
More women needed on boards says CBI
The CBI has called for all listed companies to be required to measure their progress on improving diversity in order to boost the number of women on boards, and made the business case for greater female representation.
In its submission to Lord Davies’ review, the CBI said the UK Corporate Governance Code should be revised to require listed companies to report on diversity on a ‘comply or explain basis’. This would involve reporting progress against internally-set targets that reflect their companies’ circumstances and having to explain if they fail to deliver. For example, a media company with a high number of female staff may set a higher target for the number of women on boards, compared to an engineering firm with just a handful of female employees.
“What is needed is cultural change, not quotas, ratios or tokenism. That is why we are calling for a flexible system that will allow firms to set targets that reflect the realities of their businesses.”
A similar scheme due to be introduced in Australia next year has already resulted in a sharp rise in the number of female board appointments. The latest figures from the Australian Securities Council show 27% of new appointments were female in the first half of 2010, compared with 5% in 2009.
29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36