Skills shortage
Inspiring young minds
Danny Reed, head of education and skills, PPMA Best, on the charity’s work to increase the number of female engineers
T
he engineering sector in the UK has faced many challenges over the years. An ageing workforce and not enough young
people opting for a career in engineering is one that continues to cause great concern. EngineeringUK reported in its state of
engineering report that, to solve this problem, the UK will need 203,000 people with level- three engineering skills every year to meet the demand. However, with 46 per cent of engineering employers already reporting recruitment difficulties, it’s clear a lot more needs to be done if we are to bridge the shortfall. PPMA Group of Associations recognises
this problem and has set up PPMA Best, a registered UK charity, to inspire young people to look at careers in processing, packaging, robotics and automation, and machine vision sectors.
With 27 per cent of all UK companies
involved in engineering, which represents 23 per cent of GDP, it’s important that companies and organisations, such as the PPMA, do all they can to promote career opportunities in engineering to attract more talented young people into the industry. One area that PPMA Best is keen to
improve is the number of women engineers in the UK. In 2018, only 8 per cent of the total engineering apprenticeship starters in England were female, and only 16 per cent of engineering undergraduate entrants were female. (Stats are only available for England,
ENGINEERING CAREERS POORLY UNDERSTOOD BY 11- TO 19-YEAR-OLDS
Some 76 per cent of British young people aged 11 to 19 do not know a lot about what those working in engineering do, according to research from EngineeringUK.
While the research shows 42 per cent of those aged 11 to 19 said that ‘making a difference’ or ‘having an impact’ would be an important factor to them when deciding on a career, almost half had not ever thought about becoming an engineer. According to EngineeringUK, the
country has an annual shortfall of up to 59,000 engineers every year. With an ambition to turn engineering from one of the most
poorly understood, to one of the best understood and in-demand careers, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering has designated 6 November as This is Engineering Day. It will be part of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week. The day follows a campaign, led by
the Royal Academy of Engineering, to raise awareness among young people about careers in engineering by drawing up a list of seven technologies rarely recognised as feats of engineering. One of the seven technologies is Hawk-Eye, the vision system for real-time tracking in ball sports.
22 Imaging and Machine Vision Europe • Yearbook 2019/2020
The other six feats of engineering are: Gore-Tex fabric, the iPhone, YouTube, Dolby Atmos, 3D printed bone implants, and engineering for providing clean water. Hayaatun Sillem, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: ‘Engineering and technology play an incredible role in shaping the world around us and in addressing some of society’s biggest challenges, from providing a sustainable supply of food, water and clean energy, to advancing healthcare, and keeping us safe and secure. We know that young people increasingly want to tackle these issues and
make a difference in the world, but unfortunately the lack of understanding around engineering is stopping them from exploring careers that will enable them to do this.’ Sillem added: ‘There is a pressing need to diversify our [UK] engineering workforce, since only 12 per cent of professional engineers are female and less than 9 per cent are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. ‘That’s why we’re making 6
November This is Engineering Day, to raise awareness of what an engineer is and celebrate those that are shaping the world we live in.’
not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.) Looking back at GCSEs, 50 per cent of
physics entrants were female, while just 22 per cent of A-level entrants were female. Tis raises the question: why are more women not seeing engineering as a career path? What is it that turns them away? Te government’s new approach to funding
apprenticeships through the apprenticeship levy came into effect in 2017. It meant employers with a wage bill of more than £3m will pay a levy of 0.5 per cent of their total wage bill, which they can access to train an apprentice. Companies that fall under the new
@imveurope
www.imveurope.com
Shutterstock.com
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 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
