sofe organizer report

8/11/2019 SOFE ORGANIZER REPORT

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Published September 2011.

Design: teamkaroshi.com

This report outlines evidence regarding currentshortages of graduate engineers. The challengeof forecasting numerical demand for graduateengineers in the UK, not just in engineering,is highlighted in the context of an increasinglycomplex and rapidly changing global economy.Problems faced in supplying sufficient engineeringgraduates to meet a future demand are explored.A distinction is drawn between skills shortagesand skills gaps.

This report has been produced in the contextof the Institutions strategic themes of Energy,Environment, Education and Transport and itsvision of Improving the world through engineering.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers wouldlike to thank the following people for theirassistance in developing this report:

Dr Colin Brown FIMechE

Dr Robin Clark FIMechE

Prof. Steve Culley FIMechE

Claire Donovan

Prof. Matthew Harrison MIMechE

John Lowe FIMechE

Prof. Fred Maillardet FIMechE

Bob McGrory

Andrew Medd FIMechE

Prof. Alan Roach

Susan Scurlock

Tom Toolan FIMechE


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CONTENTS

02EXECUTIVESUMMARY

21CONCLUSIONS

12FACTORS THATAFFECT DEMAND

04INTRODUCTION

22RECOMMENDATIONS

16SUPPLY OFENGINEERS ANDENGINEERING SKILLS

08DEMAND FORENGINEERS ANDENGINEERING SKILLS

23REFERENCES

20FACTORS THATAFFECT SUPPLY


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02 Meeting the Challenge: Demand and Supply of Engineers in the UK

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Engineering makes a vital contribution to the UKseconomy, helping maintain the countrys positionas the 4thlargest economy among the OECD andthe 6thlargest in the world. The UKs engineering-based sectors consist of over 800,000 businesses,employing nearly six million people, including 2.5million in manufacturing, and generate revenuesin excess of 1,000 billion each year (nearly halffrom manufacturing).

Engineerings contribution to society and theeconomy has been explicitly recognised byrecent UK governments. Factors such as the 2008financial crash, long-term campaigning on the partof employers and the engineering profession, andadvice from influential Select Committees[1]havehelped raise its profile.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers welcomesthis shift in recognising the valuable contributionengineering makes to the economy. The Institutionalso welcomes developments aimed at providingthe skills needed to grow the engineering andmanufacturing sectors. These include the focus ondemand-led skills provision, more apprenticeshipsand the investment in National Skills Academies.

However, much remains to be done. Difficulteconomic conditions are likely to continue forthe foreseeable future making it increasinglyimportant that Government creates a strong,definable vision for the UK economy, withengineering central to its success. This plan isoutlined in the Institutions Engineered in Britaincampaign, which identified a target of 20% ofGDP being contributed through manufacturing.This would require roughly 50% growth inmanufacturing output. The campaign also foundconsiderable public support for greater investment

and growth in manufacturing.

To ensure engineering and manufacturing play agreater role in the UK economy, it needs a futuresupply of engineers with the right skills, in theright place at the right time. Skills shortages andgaps have a detrimental effect on the developmentof economic sectors and limit the UKs ability toinnovate and grow. These effects are exacerbatedas global competition for engineered goods andengineering services increases.

Demand for Engineering Techniciansand Graduates

The demand for Engineering Technicians, in termsof current and future requirements, is significant. In2009, 37% of hard-to-fill vacancies were for skilledtrades people broadly level 3 Technicians.[2]Demand for Technicians will continue to rise in manysectors, driven by the increasingly technologicalnature of the economy and a notable move towardshigh-value market strategies.[3]

This report, however, focuses on graduate engineers,the supply of whom will be key to future economicgrowth. Generating more engineering graduatescould become increasingly difficult. Key factorsaffecting future supply could include changes inHigher Education funding and the increased demandfor those with engineering skills from non-engineeringemployers. These, along with other pressures, maylimit the availability of graduates entering theprofession and therefore inhibit sector growth.

Forecasting the Future

Forecasting future skills demand, particularly inresponse to economic growth, is complicated andspeculative. Economic uncertainty and unpredictabletechnological and socio-political changes combineto make the production of meaningful and reliableeconomic and labour force predictions difficult even at the very top level.[4]To predict the number ofengineers needed over time is even more difficult.

Forecasts of future skills needs are therefore usefulonly as identifiers of broad future demand rather thanas planning tools for specific education and trainingprovision. That said, forecasts suggest that the UK

needs to more than double the number of engineeringgraduates if it is to meet likely demand in the periodto 2017. Although predictions and projections varyaccording to which report is read, they share acommon theme a high and growing demand forengineering skills in the coming years from bothengineering employers and the wider economy.

The evidence available suggests that skills shortagesin engineering are running broadly in line withthe economy as a whole, despite anecdotal andperceptions-based views to the contrary. However,if the UK hopes to maintain its global economicposition, it will need to make a step change in thenumber of engineering graduates entering the

profession. If we fail to do this, the UK is unlikely tobe able to address the major economic, transport,energy and environmental challenges that it facesover the coming decades.


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03www.imeche.org/education

RECOMMENDATIONS

Skill shortages are a national issue which requirescoordinated solutions. A long-term partnershipis needed between Government, employersand relevant support organisations with eachunderstanding and playing its role (Table 1).

The Governmentshould provide a vision for thenation and lead in identifying engineering skillsdemand and frameworks that underpin their long-term supply and use. The Institution of MechanicalEngineers believes Government should:

Publish a clear cross-departmental vision for UKengineering skills needs that informs business,education and training planning;

Engage the engineering community to producea plan to raise the profile of engineering ineducation curriculums at all ages;

Adapt the successful Skills for Scotlandprogramme for the rest of the UK to contributeto skills utilisation.

Engineering employersshould recognisethat a demand-led system brings additionalresponsibilities as well as potential benefits.The Institution believes industry should:

Coordinate skills investment with supply chainsto ensure long term benefits for all;

Invest in work-place and business-practiceculture change to attract more young people,including more women, into engineering;

Promote engineering and the studyof subjects that lead to engineeringas part of their Corporate and SocialResponsibility programmes.

The professionand other support organisationsshould help identify skills needs and promotelearning and skills validation. The Institutionbelieves the profession should:

Work to create more robust and reliablepredictions of future skills needs;

Create more flexible routes into engineeringincluding those for late entrants;

Coordinate an industry-led careersservice to attract more graduates intoengineering occupations.

Table 1:Stakeholder Partnership Roles

Governments Employers Support organisations

Vision for progress Employment culture change Predictive labour market data

Environment for progress Investment in supply chains Skills validation

Framework for long-term skills supply Better use of skills Life-long learning


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INTRODUCTION

THE VALUE OFENGINEERING SKILLS

The UK is the 6thlargest economy in the world andthe 4thlargest among the 34 OECD nations. TheWorld Economic Forum Global CompetitivenessReport ranks the UK as the 12thmost competitiveworld economy.[5]For context, the UK is ranked22ndby population and 77thby geographical area.[6]

Engineering makes a major contribution tothis level of economic performance, recognizedby the inclusion of engineering in the HigherEducation Funding Council for England (HEFCE)list of strategically important and vulnerablesubjects.[7]Engineering is vital to sectors such asenergy production and supply, defence, transport,communications and health. It therefore underpinsour national infrastructure as well as our economicprosperity and is the foundation of our quality oflife. Within the UK, engineering-based sectorsbetween them:[8]

Constitute over 800,000 VAT/PAYEregistered businesses;

Employ about six million employees,about 2.5 million of whom are employed inmanufacturing; and

Turnover about 1,063 billion per year, nearlyhalf of which is attributable to manufacturing.

Engineerings contribution to the UK economy is,however, much greater than these data suggest.Policy makers and the general public alikereadily acknowledge that engineering ingenuityunderpins the supply of energy, transport andtelecommunications, clean water and food. Lesswell known are the roles it plays in transformingpublic health, banking and public sector servicesfor example. Engineering reaches beyond itstraditional applications and also sustains theservice sector and public sector particularly

through innovation in the technologies thatunderpin service activities.[9]As Accenture putit in the introduction to their Technology Vision2011[10]report: technology trends are not isolatedand are intimately intertwined with business

and societal trends.

Engineers at all levels are critical for success.We know that demand for Technicians, in termsof current and future shortages is significant. In2009, 37% of hard to fill vacancies were for skilledtrades people broadly level 3 Technicians.[11]Demand for Technicians is rising in many sectorsdriven by the increasingly technological natureof the economy and a notable move towardshigh-value market strategies.[12]This report,however, concentrates on the demand and supplyof engineeringgraduates. Graduate level skillswill be central to driving innovation and growththrough high skills technologies in our increasinglyknowledge based economy.

They may well be under increased pressure,however, due to changes in Higher Educationfunding and they are the subject of considerabledemand from non-engineering employers.

SUSTAINED ECONOMICGROWTH IS FOUNDEDON DISCOVERIES ANDDEVELOPMENTS MADEUSEFUL THROUGH

ENGINEERING DESIGNAND PROCESSES.


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WHAT DOESTHE FUTURE HOLD?

Innovation has always been, and continues to be,integral to creating value. So then, are the skillsthat support innovation, including skills in science,technology, engineering and mathematics.[14]However the economic and political frameworkschange, sustained economic growth is foundedon discoveries and developments made usefulthrough engineering design and processes.In this way we add value to natural resources.This requires engineering creativity andcompetence based on knowledge,understanding and judgement.

It is likely that the next 30 years will seetechnological changes at least as great as those ofthe last 30. At present the considerable majorityof innovation takes place in highly-developedeconomies.[15]However, large areas of the worldare developing rapidly and, as they do, their abilityto innovate increases.[16]Global competition istherefore increasing and maintaining our positionin the world economy is becoming more difficult.

It is widely recognized that shortages of peoplewith the right skills can have a significantimpact on the day-to-day running of a business.Such shortages also affect businesses ability toinnovate and grow. Meeting employers skillsneeds is therefore essential to our economicsuccess[17]and to maintaining internationalcompetitiveness. To do this we must ensure thatwe have the best possible understanding of ourlikely skills needs allied to an ongoing supplyof people with appropriate engineering skills.Failure could lead to the UK being overtaken in thecompetition for economic advantage.

In recent years public policy debate has becomeincreasingly demand led, focusing more on howbest to match the demand for economicallyuseful skills with the supply of people whohave those skills. Demand can be representedin various ways. With regard to engineering wesee, for example, a strong preference frombusiness for graduates from science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.[18] engineering being a critical part of this. Ensuringthat we have the supply of engineers that weneed, with the right skills, is therefore a majorconcern for the UK as a whole as well as forindividual companies.

A common perception is that we are living witha demand for engineers and engineering skills thatwe cannot meet. Is this correct? If so, what can wedo about it? If not, should we be concerned aboutthe future?

IT IS LIKELY THAT THENEXT 30 YEARS WILLSEE TECHNOLOGICALCHANGES AT LEAST

AS GREAT AS THOSEOF THE LAST 30.

Technological changes in thelast 30 years include:

Internet browser and html Mobile phones

E-mail

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Microprocessors

Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery(laparoscopy)

Light-emitting diodes

GPS systems

Photovoltaic solar energy

Large- scale wind turbines

Bio-fuels


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DEMAND FOR ENGINEERSAND ENGINEERING SKILLS

SHORTAGES V GAPS

Skill can be described as abilitywith referenceto the task needing to be performed, and thelevel of competence required.[19]Skill is, therefore,the ability to perform a task at the required levelof competence. Demand for skills is defined interms of the jobs that employers want done andis expressed either in terms of immediate andunfulfilled need or as a prediction of anticipatedfuture shortage. It can be identified at nationalor regional level.

Imbalance in the demand for and supply ofskills essentially takes two forms; shortagesand gaps. The two terms are often used inter-changeably which can confuse debates aboutcauses and possible solutions. Definitions ofshortage and gap are subject to debate but forthe purposes of this report we use the following.

Skills shortage: a situation in which employersare unable, or find it difficult, to find and recruitqualified and experienced people to specific roles.Factors that can lead to skills shortages include:

New technology or business processes

requiring new skills not yet catered for inthe education and training system;

New projects/product lines creating a surge(sometimes short term) in the demandfor existing skills that the supply systemcannot match;

Entrants to the employment market choosingother careers;

Qualified people unwilling to work in a givensector; this could be for many reasons includingchanging social attitudes (e.g. level of supportfor nuclear power);

Business-specific issues, including firm-specific/highly-specialised skill needs, insufficient salaryoffered, undesirable location, poor recruitmentprocesses; unattractive working conditions.

Skills gap: where people employed do not haveall the skills needed to perform the tasks requiredby the employer. Factors that can lead to skillsgaps include:

Technologies being introduced, the verynewness of which means that initially few arefamiliar with them or their applications;

Employers, being unable to find skilledapplicants, recruiting workers who need furthertraining and/or experience to meet the firmsskill needs for the occupation;

New employees who are still adjusting to anew company.

SKILL IS THE ABILITYTO PERFORM A TASK

AT THE REQUIRED LEVELOF COMPETENCE.


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ENGINEERS IN THE ECONOMY

To understanding demand we first need toidentify where engineers are currently employed.In the UK economy there are, depending on thedefinition used, between 369,000 and 568,000engineers among whom approximately 180,000are registered as either Chartered Engineers orIncorporated Engineers.[20]These engineers enterand leave engineering occupations in a numberof ways (Figure 1).

Employment data does not, however, show howmany engineersare employed or needed in anygiven sector. Rather it categorises occupationsin broader terms such as professional, technicaland scientific or by qualification level such aslevel 4.

We have noted the pervasive nature of modernengineering. Practising engineers work withina wide range of occupational categories, as dopeople who hold engineering qualifications butfor whose job an engineering qualification is nota pre-requisite. This is shown, in part, by the factthat at least 8 of the 24 Sector Skills Councilshave an interest in professional engineeringskills. Across a number of sectors, a smallnumber of specific highly skilled occupationsare required, which in some cases are critical tothe relevant industry or sector. These includeelectrical power engineers for the electricitysupply industry, and chemical engineers in theprocess industries.

The available data on graduates makes nodistinction between those engineers whomust have studied, for example, AeronauticalEngineering or Mechanical Engineering in orderto do their jobs from those for whom any science,technology, engineering or mathematical degreewill suffice. The Engineering Council 2010 surveyof registered engineers (Table 2) illustratesthe distribution of engineers throughoutthe economy.

Engineering graduates

entering non-engineering

occupations

Moving to

non-

engineering

occupants

Emigration

& returning

to home

country

Engineering graduates

entering engineering

occupations

Immigration In-company

transfers

Deceased

Retirement

Graduate engineers

in the UK in

engineering roles

Figure 1: Summarised flow of graduates to and from

engineering roles (not to scale)


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Table 2: Employment sector by section of registrationSource: Engineering Council Survey of registered Engineers (2010)

Total %

Chartered

Engineer %

Incorporated

Engineer%

Engineering

technician %

Energy/gas/oil/petrochemicals 15 17 11 8

Construction/distribution 13 13 10 13

Manufacturing 12 13 13 9

Transport 9 8 8 18

Armed forces/defences 8 7 11 9

Utilities 7 7 6 5

IT/Computing/software 5 6 2 1

Local authority 5 3 11 7

Higher education 4 4 2 1

Communications 3 3 3 2

Government agency 3 3 2 3

Health 2 1 3 3

Agriculture/food industry 1 1 1 2

Banking/finance 1 1 1 1

Schools 1 1 1 2

Further education 1 0 2 4

Central government 1 1 1 1

Other 9 8 11 11

Not stated 2 2 2 1

Women are under-represented in engineering inthe UK; we have the lowest percentage of womenin engineering (8.7%) within the EU (the highestwith 30% is Latvia).[13]Research by the EqualOpportunities Commission.[21]found agreementthat there are a number of major barriersconfronting organisations seeking to challengegender segregation, including traditional attitudesregarding proper jobs for women and men, socialstereotypes, the poor image of some sectors,the attitudes of employers. Other evidence[22]suggests that a significant barrier to the flow ofwomen into SET is the simple fact that men aredominant numerically. Women who are interestedin engineering stand out increasingly as they

progress through the education and trainingprocess and are seen to believe they do not belongin this male space. There is evidence to suggestthat engineering employers with a predominantlymale workforce have embedded corporate culturalnorms and values which are often alien to femaleemployees.[23]This factor alone dissuades manywomen from entering or, vitally, remaining inengineering occupations as opposed to remainingin the sector but in non-engineering occupations.

Initiatives such as the SET Fair Standard, whichthe Institution has used, could play a prominentrole in helping create workplaces that areattractive to all.

THE UK HAS THE LOWESTPERCENTAGE OF WOMEN

IN ENGINEERING (8.7%)WITHIN THE EU.


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DEMAND INDICATORS

Employer surveys, which are fundamentallyperceptions-based research, tend to reflectthe views of larger employers or theirrepresentative bodies who are more able torespond to questionnaires and find the time to beinterviewed. Larger companies clearly play a vitalrole in stimulating business through their supplychains. However, approximately 90% of engineersin the UK work in businesses with nine or feweremployees and a turnover of under 2 million. [11]Employers are not a homogenous group; in reality,their view on what they need from graduatesvaries by size of business and which level andtype of manager is questioned. Assessment ofdemand that adequately takes account of the widediversity of employers has so far proved elusive.

Engineering Council data shows that between2007 and 2010 the average salaries of registeredengineers rose despite growing unemploymentduring the period.[24]This might suggest a buoyantmarket for engineers. However, we shouldnote that:

about 13% of registrants saw their base

salaries fall while some, government employedengineers for example, saw their salaries rise;

nationally, median earnings rose during thesame period by 9.19% indicating that engineerssalaries were, in effect, simply keeping pace.

The list of Tier 2 Shortage Occupation Listsproduced by the Migration Advisory Committee(MAC)[25]offers an insight into demand, in theshort term at least. Inclusion on the list indicatesthe occupation is skilled, suffering from animmediate labour shortage, and that it is sensibleto fill the vacancies using labour from outsidethe European Economic Area. When introduced

in 2008 the occupations included accounted forabout 1 million jobs (4% of the labour market).In 2009 and 2010 the lists accounted for just500,000 jobs. In 2011 the government acceptedMAC recommendations to remove 71 professionsand eight job roles from the list. This proposalwas intended to meet the governmentsobjective of raising the skill level of Tier 2 toNational Qualifications Framework level 4 andabove (NQF4). The MAC estimates that theserecommendations will mean Tier 2 applicantscoming into the country via the shortageoccupation route will only be eligiblefor approximately 230,000 jobs (less than1 per cent of the labour market).

Despite considerable publicity in the past fewyears about skills shortages, UKCES states thatfor the general economy, even allowing for theeffects of the economic recession, Overall,skills shortages are relatively small, affecting

only a minority of employers.[26]In reaching thisconclusion UKCES carried out horizon-scanninganalysis,[27]drawing in a number of other studies,together with material taken from sector skillsassessment reports (produced by Sector SkillsCouncils). Separately Careers Scotland concludedthat, in Scotland Skill shortages are uncommon they are equivalent to around one percent of

employees.[28]

OVERALL, SKILLSSHORTAGES ARERELATIVELY SMALL,AFFECTING ONLY

A MINORITY OFEMPLOYERS.


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FUTURE DEMAND

Table 3:Engineering Skills vacancies in the English economySource: Engineering UK2011

% of

establishments

with at least one: All establishments

All engineering

establishments

vacancy 12% 8%

hard to fill vacancy 3% 3%

skills shortage

vacancy 3% 2%

EngineeringUK assesses how engineering fits intothe wider picture on skills shortages by referenceto the National Employer Skills Survey. [29]Levelsof hard to fill and skills shortage vacancies inestablishments within the engineering sector arevery close to the rest of the economy (Table 3). InScotland the picture is similar; Skills DevelopmentScotland states that, Skill shortages are aspecial kind of hard-to-fill vacancy. They are not

general ly prevalent in the Scottish labour market.

The picture across the UK is broadly similar..[30]They also note however that when a businesshas a vacancy which is hard-to-fill, the impactcan be severe. The two percent of engineeringestablishments with skills shortage vacanciesexperience their greatest need in respect ofskilled trades-people, professionals and associateprofessionals. For professionals the most commonarea of skills deficiency are technical, practicalor job-specific skills and are due to a shortageof applicants.

Notwithstanding the fact that there will bepockets of shortage, by sector, geography, by skilllevel and for particular skills, the situation seemsto be that, the recruitment difficulties expressedby employers are broader concerns about a lack

of well rounded candidates with technical ski lls,broader competences, such as mathematical

capability, and practical work experience. [31]

We have already stated that we would benefitfrom anticipating our future need for engineeringskills. Forecasting future demand for engineers is,however, complicated and somewhat speculative.The government, which has a vested interestin using demand as the basis for managingsupply (and, therefore, the costs and benefits ofsupply) consider that, Any numerical estimateof future demand for STEM qualifications and

particularly specific STEM subjects will be highly

speculative.[31]Skills in Context recommendedthat it would be more productive to focus ondeveloping adaptive capacity rather thancrystal bal l gazing.[32]

Very few factors are relatively straightforwardto identify and assess when forecast. We can,for example, predict with some accuracy thenumber of engineers needed to replace thosewho are retiring. Other issues, growth in knownand long-standing business sectors for example,are uncertain and so must be estimated. Someimportant factors, however, are more difficulteven to estimate, including:

Sudden and unpredicted technologicalbreakthroughs that rapidly create newindustries (e.g. mobile communications),change the shape and scale of others(e.g. agriculture) and alter business models(e.g. internet-enabled businesses);

Changing social attitudes, such as increasingdemand for green products, which canradically alter customer behaviour;

The impact of the increasingly interdependentglobal network of cultural, political, economicand legal influences within which ouremployment decisions are made;

Short-notice changes in Government policy,such as the decision to invest in nuclearpower; and

Large companies arriving/departing the UKimpacting on suppliers.


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Even identifying areas of economic andemployment growth carries risk. Unpredictedchange has been a characteristic of economicdevelopment during the last couple of centuriesand is likely to continue as a feature of economicand technological progress. Few predicted forexample the meteoric development of the mobiletelecommunications industry before it occurred.As an indication of areas of future demand, andalthough they make no employment predictions,the Technology Strategy Board identifiedthe following areas as those which it wouldprioritise: [33]

Advanced materials

Bioscience

Built environment

Creative industries

Electronics, photonics and electrical systems

Emerging technologies and industries

Energy generation and supply

Environmental sustainability

High value manufacturing

High value services

Information and communication technology

Medicines and healthcare

Nanotechnology

Transport

Employers (engineering and others)consistently identify a future demand for STEMgraduates[34].Their combination of numeracyand technical skills is attractive[35]and will be

increasingly useful in the advanced and rapidlychanging labour market of the future. [17]However,projections of demand for STEM/engineeringgraduates vary.

The Institute for Employment Research, forexample, publishes demand assessments underthe title Working Futures, the latest being for20072017.[36]They predict an overall demand by2017 for 514,000 additional Science/TechnologyProfessionals. Of these 192,000 (37%) representgrowth while the others (63%) represent replace-ments for those retiring from the workforce. Thecorresponding figures for Associate Profession-als (SOC 31) are 206,000 additional, of which40,000 (19.5%) represent growth. Note, however,that the figures for retirements from the work-force include, those employed one year ago whohave retired from employment either temporarilyor permanently. This includes leavers for careerbreaks, illness and family formation.

The, now replaced, Department for Innovation,Universities and Skills (DIUS), the Council forIndustry and Higher Education and EngineeringUKcommissioned the Warwick Institute forEmployment Research (IER) to prepare benchmarkprojections for the demand for those with graduatelevel qualifications in STEM subjects. [37]Theseprojections are provided by main STEM category,including engineering at NCQF level 4 for whichthey forecast a need for 220,000 between 2007and 2017. Using this data and making some simpleassumptions we can estimate the implicationsof these demand projections on the supply ofengineering graduates (Table 8; see page 22). Onthis basis we suggest that annual graduationsneed to more than double starting immediately to meet the forecast.

Caution is, however, important when usingnumbers as anything other than indicative ofgeneral trends and tendencies. While most agreethat the need for engineering talent will increase,

there is little if any agreement about predictions ofthe number of engineers needed by most sectors.DIUS suggested that, any numerical estimateof future demand for STEM qualifications and

particularly specific STEM subjects will be highly

speculativeand noted that employers they hadconsulted were of the opinion that, it was notpossible to make sensible forecasts over a period

of 510 years. [37]

What we can say with certainty is that wewill need more engineers in the near future.Irrespective of how its economy develops, the UKneeds engineers to design, build and maintainits infrastructure; to provide new products and

services to sell to others; to ensure we are welldefended; and to provide us with the food, power,transport and entertainment we expect.


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PRODUCTIVITY

Assessing current demand is complicated by awide range of factors each of which can affect theoverall picture of skills demand (Figure 2). It isnot within the scope of this report to discuss all ofthese, however, the following are worth noting.

Despite the major contribution engineeringmakes to the UK economy employment levelshave declined by about 40% since 1988, againsta background of a rise in UK general employmentof 10%.[38]In part this is due to the well reportedmigration of many manufacturing enterprises. Itis, however, also partly attributable to increasedefficiency and productivity per unit of resource often embracing new technologies which is anatural consequence of engineering practice.

FACTORS THATAFFECT DEMAND

Table 4: Manfacturing output gross value added (GVA)Source: ONS, series: QTPI (manufacturing), ABML (totaleconomy) HM Treasury GDP deflator

Current prices

billion

2009 prices

billion

Manufacturing

as % total

1979 47.5 25.8

1989 111.1 200.8 23.5

1997 150.2 199.7 20.31998 152.0 197.7 19.4

1999 151.2 192.5 18.4

2000 150.0 188.8 17.4

2001 149.2 183.9 16.4

2002 146.3 174.9 15.3

2003 144.8 168.0 14.3

2004 145.7 164.8 13.6

2005 148.1 164.2 13.3

2006 151.5 162.9 12.8

2007 154.7 161.6 12.4

2008 150.3 152.5 11.6

2009 139.9 139.9 11.1

Figure 2: Factors affecting skills demand

Demand

Technological

breakthrough

Changes in

Governmnet

policy

Retirement

patterns

Global

cultural,

political,economic

and legal

influences

Changing

social/consumerattitudes

Productivity

Migration

Skills use



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Table 5: Manfacturing workforce, seasonally adjustedNote: Data taken on March of each year

Source: ONS, Workforce Jobs by Industry, table 6 series:JWR7 (Manufacturing), DYDC (total economy)

Manufacturing

000s

Total

000s

Manufacturing

as % total

1981 5,820 26,425 22.0

1991 4,667 28,589 16.3

2001 3,873 29,920 12.9

2006 3,045 31,517 9.7

2007 2,988 31,793 9.4

2008 2,906 32,038 9.1

2009 2,686 31,696 8.5

2010 2,570 31,242 8.2

2009 2,543 31,354 8.1

One emerging theme is the need to pay increasedattention to how employers make better use ofthe skills already available to them to fosterinnovation and drive business performance. [41]Thisthinking is gaining ground in government[42]andacross Europe. [43]The principle that best-use mustbe made of available skills underpins the ScottishGovernments lifelong skills strategy, Skills forScotland[44]and is referred to in Skills for Growth The National Skills Strategy. [45]The idea is thatas well as considering the supply of skills we alsoneed to consider how we can help businesses tomake best use of the skills available to them. Thedebate is moving from balancing demand andsupply to balancing demand supply and utilization.

SKILLS UTILISATION

Thirty years ago in the carpet making industry 3 or4 people were employed to keep each loom running.A large number of people would also have beenemployed to rectify (by hand) faults in the finishedcarpet. Now one person operates 3 or 4 looms whilefewer people are employed to remedy faults (stillcorrected by hand) as the number of faults comingoff the loom has reduced. [39]In the UK the carand electronics [40]industries are typical sectorsin which dramatically increased productivity isassociated with falling employment, while volumehas been maintained or increased. This clearlybenefits the UK in terms of taxation and balanceof trade but it also reduces employment levels. TheUK manufacturing sector provides a clear exampleof this; outputhas risen steadily since 1979 (Table4) while manufacturing employmenthas declinedover the same period (Table 5).

Supply

Utilisation Demand

Demand Supply

Figure 3: Moving from balancing demand and supply tobalancing demand supply and utilization:

From:

To:


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Skills in Context,[46]produced by the Centre forEnterprise Research links skills, enterprise andeconomic development and was the basis for theScottish Governments strategy. It suggests thatjobs are not necessarily being redesigned to makebest use of improvements in qualification levelsamongst employees. So, for example, the rise inqualification levels has not been accompaniedby an increase in the control employees canexercise over their jobs despite the fact thatmore skilled jobs typically require a higher levelof individual decision-making over tasks. Theend result of this thinking is that Simply addingmore ski lls to the workforce will not secure the

full benefit for our economy unless employers and

individuals maximise the benefits that they can

derive from skills. Furthermore, how skills interact

with the other drivers of productivity, such as

capital investment and innovation, is crucial.

Organisations and individuals will only reap thefull benefits of skills investment when workplacesfully enable staff to also usetheir skills effectively.

By way of illustration, the Scottish governmentidentified a series of actions to make better useof skills in the workplace. [47]The rationale is thateffective skills use involves developing skills inways that best enable their effective applicationin the workplace. However, it also cruciallydepends on organisations embracing workplacecultures that enable people to perform at theirbest. This has many aspects to it, including:

business/organisational ambition; leadership and people management practices;

effective employee engagement;

job design that encourages autonomy;

how well learning is transferred to theworkplace setting; and

effective equality, diversity and healthybusiness practices.

ORGANISATIONS ANDINDIVIDUALS WILL ONLYREAP THE FULL BENEFITSOF SKILLS INVESTMENTWHEN WORKPLACESFULLY ENABLE STAFF TO

ALSO USE THEIR SKILLSEFFECTIVELY.


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CHANGING SKILL NEEDS CHANGINGRETIREMENT PATTERNS

New jobs and new skills are continually emerging.As they do the skills needs of employerschange to suit changing business processes,technological developments, customer demand,tax and other legal frameworks and a host ofother factors. Increasingly engineers need to bemulti-disciplined. In 2007, Educating Engineersfor the Future[48]identified the future engineeringgraduate as needing to combine three roles;

Specialist (technical expert); Integrator (operating across boundaries); and

Change-agent (providing creativity, innovationand leadership).

So, for example, engineers in the medicaltechnology industry require skills innanotechnology, design, use of biomaterials,software and IT together with expert knowledgeof their own discipline. [49]UKCES cites SEMTAand others as stating that for successfuldevelopment of the industrial biotechnologyindustry, graduates and post-graduates will needto have multidisciplinary experience wherever

possible as industrial biotechnology crossesthe boundaries between such areas as biology,genetics, microbiology, chemistry and chemicalengineering. [17]The increasingly changing skillsets that engineers will need simply make it moreimportant that businesses know how to best adaptand make use of those skills.

Previous retirement patterns are unlikely tocontinue. The rapidly diminishing proportion ofthe working population covered by final salaryschemes means that more engineers will berelying on defined contribution or stakeholderpension schemes, which in recent years havegenerated slim returns on investment. In addition,the age at which the state pension starts to bepaid is rising. Together these facts are likelyto encourage a growing number of engineersto remain in employment longer changingretirement patterns and acting in effect as anadditional supply. Already there are signs thatthese changes are influencing the behaviour ofprofessional engineers. The Engineering Council2010 survey of registered engineers indicatesthat fewer Chartered and Incorporated Engineershad fully retired, partially retired or taken earlyretirement than was the case in 2007. [50]This is inthe context of an aging engineering workforce.


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SUPPLY OF ENGINEERSAND ENGINEERING SKILLS

COMPULSORY EDUCATION

At a young age children enter the educationsystem and progress through a series of phasesand transition points. When they leave they eithermove into work, training, an additional period ofeducation or a combination of these. During thistime they will have been through a formativeperiod of personal development in which they willhave been exposed to a range of social influencesand educational experiences. At the same timethey will have passed through key gateways; thedecisions they make can irreversibly determinetheir future life and career opportunities.

The supply of graduate engineers is influencedby a range of factors (Figure 4). It is, however,ultimately dependent on the supply of youngpeople who perform well in the required A level(or equivalent) subjects. In turn this dependson the choices made and performance at GCSE(or equivalent). Underpinning all of this is themotivation of children towards STEM which isaffected by a plethora of factors, educational andsocial.[51]Attracting young people into engineeringis a challenge for many developed countries,although to differing degrees. [52]

Awareness of engineering as a possible careeroption for children in the UK is generally very low,particularly amongst younger groups. [53]The termengineering does not appear among the subjectsto which they are exposed. Careers in engineering,therefore, typically build on early engagementand progression in science and mathematics.An influential US study published in 2006 [54]highlighted the clear connection between earlyinterest in science, achievement in mathematics(at age 1314) and persistence in engineering todegree level.

The debates about the issues that can affect theuptake of the subjects needed for progress intoengineering occupations are well rehearsed.These include:

Shortages of specialist teachers in science(especially Physics) and mathematics

Insufficient real-world relevance withinSTEM subject curricula

The transmissive rather than participativenature of teaching at secondary school

Insufficient opportunity for hands-on, orexperiential learning

Cultural influences (e.g. media, peers, parents,role models)

While Mathematics and Further Mathematics haveincreased in popularity since 2002 Physics hashovered around the 30,000-student level (currentlyon a gradual increase) in England(Chart 1). That said, these students represent asmall percentage of the students in the yearcohort. In 2006 for example there were 645,000students in England of whom about 4.6% studiedA level Physics a key subject for entry to anengineering degree. In Scotland, the percentageof students taking the Physics Higher was similar.Not surprisingly, the more science A level passesa student achieves the much more likely they areto study a STEM subject at University; from 2% ofthose with no A science level passes to 91% ofthose with 4 scienceA level passes. [31]

AWARENESS OFENGINEERING AS APOSSIBLE CAREER OPTION

FOR CHILDREN IN THE UKIS GENERALLY VERY LOW.

Figure 4: Examples of factors affecting skills supply

Demand

Inter-sectorcompetition

for skills

Internationalcompetiton

for skills

Mobility:domestic andinternational

Business-

specific factors(eg. location,salary)

Sector-specific

factors(eg. publicperception)

Skills use


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HIGHER EDUCATION

Engineering education is the bedrock on whichhigh-quality engineering competence is built.Of course, the newly graduated engineer needsextensive knowledge and practical skills and thatis where training is important. Education duringthese formative years will, however, establish theprinciples that will guide engineers through theirever-changing careers. A professional engineertakes around eight years from entering universitybefore they are fully functioning, assumingthey receive good professional developmentsupport, and early exposure to responsibilityand experience.

Although the numbers applying to study non-engineering subjects have risen faster, there arepositive signs of growth in those applying to studyengineering. Since 2005 the number of applicationsto most engineering disciplines has increased(Chart 2). Applications to study MechanicalEngineering have increased in line with the overallrise in applications to undergraduate study; 31.7%compared to 33.5%.It is now the top engineering discipline, rankedby number of applications.

HESA statistics show that UK domiciledengineering students make up a steady percentage(about 70%) of all engineering students. Thisis confirmed by analysis by student domicile ofaccepted applicants through UCAS. These indicatethat the health of engineering is being maintainedamong UK students while the growth is in non-UK domiciled students. It seems likely that theengineering professions considerable efforts topromote careers in the discipline have helped tosustain demand in the UK.

We can compare the percentage of allundergraduates studying engineeringmanufacturing and construction with that ofother countries. This is not an exact comparison,as content and categorisation of degrees variesby country. We can, however, see from UNESCOdata (Table 6) that the percentage for the UK isamong the lower percentages for a selection of ourinternational competitors. By comparing this withthe contribution made by manufacturing to GDPwe see that the relationship between them is notdirect. Although an analysis of this is beyond thescope of this report factors explaining this willinclude the nature of manufacturing activity andthe degree to which engineers are used elsewherein the economy.

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

20102008200620042002

Year

Applications

Maths

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Further Maths

Chart 1: A levels taken (All UK/Male/female)Source: JCQ

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000 Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

General Engineering

201020092008200720062005

Year

Applications

Chart 2: Top five engineering disciplines by number ofapplications. Source: UCAS


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Table 6:Percentage of graduates in engineeringmanufacturing and constructionSources: 1. Graduate data from UNESCO Institute for statistics,Global education digest 2009; *Based on UNESCO figure fortotal number of graduates and 650,000 engineering graduates(www.engineeringinchina.net); 2. GDP data from UnitedNations Statistics Division (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/dnllist.asp)

Nation

Graduates in

engineering

manufacturing andconstruction (%)

Manufacturing

output as %of GDP (2009)

USA 7 12.3

UK 8 10.0

China 11* 41.1

Germany 13 17.1

France 16 9.6

Russian

Federation 22 13.2

Those with high levels of skill in STEM subjectsoften do not work in STEM specific occupations.DIUS found that just under half of those withSTEM degrees worked in STEM occupations,even though these occupations often carried anearnings premium. [31]EngineeringUK, however,suggest a slightly higher figure of around 60%.Allowing for differences in how occupations areclassified these still indicate that a high proportionof engineering graduates are lost to engineeringon graduation. The 40% to 50% of engineering &technology graduates who follow non-engineeringcareers bring value to other areas of the economy.However, they also represent a lost resourceto engineering.

It could be assumed that increased applicationsfor engineering degrees will translate into a risein the number of graduates entering engineeringoccupations on graduation. Demographic trendsimply, however, that there will be a decline of9% in the numbers of young people aged 15 to 24between 2010 and 2020. In addition, 80 per centof our 2020 workforce is already in work[55]; thisindicates a tightening in the supply of engineeringgraduates and technicians in years to come.

So, an increase in the proportion of engineeringgraduates entering engineering occupationscould go some way to alleviating futureshortages. In 2007 CRAC[56]found that overall86% of engineering students intended or probablyintended to pursue a career in engineering. Thepercentage of females not wishing to pursue anengineering career rose from the second year ofthe degree course; for males this change occurslater, after placement. Importantly, it was notedthat the profile of engineering employers is staticor even declines in the final year of study. In

contrast, the profile of major accountancy firmsrises significantly. The Department for BusinessInnovation & Skills drew similar conclusions inMarch 2011. [57]

Clearly there is more that could be done to co-ordinate the recruitment efforts of engineeringemployers so that they raise their profile asemployers of choice among final year engineeringstudents. This issue appears to be becoming moreurgent as the percentage of students applying forjobs at the very beginning of their final year isincreasing; from 25% in 2001 to 37% in 2010. [58]

We should also recognise that students haveaccess to high quality information about careers

from attractive employers. The profession shouldmake available information for students toaddress their needs.

GRADUATE DESTINATIONS

A HIGH PROPORTIONOF ENGINEERINGGRADUATES ARE LOST

TO ENGINEERING ONGRADUATION.


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GREATER FLEXIBILITYOF PROVISION

While it can argued that universities must becomemore responsive to the needs of employers, somerelevant tensions must be recognised. Employersare not a homogonous mass. While they havesome knowledge, understanding and skill needsin common, some are quite specific. Graduatesfrom most university engineering degrees go towork with a wide range of employers in a range ofoccupations (engineering and non-engineering).Each of these demands a different skill set.Meeting those demands in detail presents a realproblem. Employers must, and generally do, acceptresponsibility for developing some of the skillsthey need in their graduates.

Historically higher education (HE) has been orhas been seen to be relatively inflexible, takinga long time to adjust degree content, teachingand learning styles and facilities to better suit thechanging demand of industry. In contrast industrysurvives by responding rapidly to changingconditions. In recent years much has been doneto bring HE and industry together and the HEsector is increasingly responsive to the demands ofindustry through, for example:

industrial advisory panels ondegree programmes

visiting professorships

industrial fellowships

industry led projects, and

shared facilities

greater use of learning, at higher levels,in the workplace

Of particular note are the MSc and BEng inProfessional Engineering introduced recentlythrough the Engineering Gateways project; apartnership between the Engineering Council,professional institutions and universities. Theprogrammes provide routes to registrationthrough work-based learning. The work-based learning framework provides a way toconcurrently acquire and utilise underpinningknowledge, understanding and skill-sets in workin order to meet academic requirements anddemonstrate competence.

Such work-based routes offer a relatively costeffective way of developing knowledge andbuilding on existing competences. They thereforeoffer the potential for engineers, including thoseworking in smaller organisations, to achieveregistration and so improve their professionalstanding. Employers will also benefit through thedevelopment of their workforce in areas directlyrelevant to their business.

Key features/benefits of the work-based LearningContract are:

flexible, individually designed programmes,unique to each participants needsand situation;

recognition and accreditation of appropriateprevious learning;

option to attend taught modules;

access to university learning resources;

supervisor support throughout the programme.


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FACTORS THATAFFECT SUPPLY

INCREASINGCOMPETITIONFOR GRADUATES

MOBILITY

The war for talent is intensifying.So startsTalent Wars: The struggle for tomorrows

workforce. [59]A wide range of sectors are engagedin offering solutions to present and or predictedskills shortages and gaps. For example, a recentreport by PriceWaterhouseCoopers identifies agrowing problem with recruiting quality talentto the insurance industry. [60]So any discussionabout engineerings ability to attract graduatesmust recognise that competition from other sectorsfor graduates will increase as the numerateproblem-solver characterised by engineering(and STEM) graduates is in demand.

The UKCES National Skills Audit[27] makes it clearthat many sectors, whether or not they specificallytarget engineers, can offer attractive salaries thatdivert engineering graduates from engineeringroles. This should concern traditionalengineering employers. Employment of science,technology engineering and mathematics (STEM)professionals in the service industries is growingrapidly. According to the Royal Society, themajority of STEM graduates are now enteringjobs classified as being in the service industries; [61although what proportion of these that requireengineering qualifications and competences isnot known. Engineering graduates are recruitedinto non-engineering occupations by a wide rangeof employers who use their numerate problem-solving skills, and who are prepared to trainthem in their own specialist technologies.

This puts pressure on the ability of companiesto recruit UK engineering graduates intoengineering occupations. At the same time,the ability of multinational and transnationalemployers to internally transfer staff betweencountries where they have bases or activities

can help alleviate their recruitment difficulties.However, it can also undermine the UK graduatesposition in the UK market. Demographic trendsare likely to intensify the competition. There is apredicted decline of 9% in the numbers of youngpeople aged 15 to 24 between 2010 and 2020 and80% of our 2020 workforce is already in work. [62]

Engineering skills are highly portableinternationally, more so than some otherprofessions such as Law. Not surprisingly theninternational mobility for professional engineersis continually increasing. Some measure of thischange is indicated by the increased activity underthe international competence recognition protocolssuch as the Washington Accord andthe FEANI Index.

The availability of high bandwidth internetaccess means that engineering design and projectmanagement can now be carried out anywhere inthe world. At the same time physical engineeringactivities can be carried out across borders so that,for example, sub-assemblies can be manufacturedin one country and assembled in another. Thishas brought some advantages to consumersby driving down costs and making more highquality manufactured good available at lowerprices. One effect of this has been to increase theavailability of engineering skills in other countries.This has increased the pool of talent availableinternationally, including to companies in the UK.Increasingly these potential employees can fillengineering roles either in their home country(i.e. through off-shoring) or by coming to work inthe UK; both cases affect employment patternsin the UK.

Within the UK, business location can affectrecruitment for some sectors and employers.Employers located in areas which well-qualifiedpotential employees find unattractive, for reasonssuch as remoteness or, at the other extreme,high house prices, can find it difficult to recruit.Consequently certain regions have a greater pullto potential employees (or students) than othersand in some areas there can be a clustering

effect between universities and business thatreinforces this. [63]Added to this is the realproblem with recruitment that increases ininverse proportion to company size; large, bluechip companies have multiple applications fromappropriately skilled engineers while smallercompanies have insufficient applications. In bothcases time and cost are added to the recruitmentprocess although the business outcomes aresubstantially different.

THE WAR FOR TALENTIS INTENSIFYING.


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CONCLUSIONS

Balancing short term demands for skills withthe long term supply of those skills is a majorundertaking that requires an understanding ofwhere in the economy there will be growth, whattransformative changes are likely to occur andhow skill-needs will change over time.

Overall there is little, if any, quantifiable evidenceof a general shortage of graduate engineers in theUK. Experiences will of course vary by individualcompany, geography, sector, and over time.Shortages are likely to emerge, as new industriesdevelop, or engineering graduates continue to bedrawn away to non-engineering careers. However,changes in retirement patterns mean that someprojections of shortages arising from retirementover the next 10 to 15 years may be less acutethan expected.

We can be confident, however, that we will seean increasing demand for people with STEM skillsin general and engineering skills in particular.The demand is likely to come from employers inboth engineering and non-engineering sectors.It is also likely to be amplified as our pursuit ofa low carbon economy is ratcheted up.

This will occur in a period when the number ofyoung people entering the workplace will declineand competition for all graduates, and especiallySTEM graduates, will increase. Data shows,however, that the number of applications fromUK domiciled students for engineering coursesremains static. Hence a major challenge is toensure that more young people, including morewomen, choose to study STEM subjects at schoolso that they can and do study engineering atuniversity and, ultimately, pursue engineeringcareers. At the same time we will need to makesure that we are making the most of the skillsavailable to us through effective management,business organization including supplychain management.

Ensuring we understand demand as much aspossible and create a commensurate supply isa challenge for us all and so the solution requiresa co-ordinated approach. A long term partnershipis needed between Government, employersand relevant support organisations, eachunderstanding and playing its roles.

Table 7:Stakeholder Partnership Roles

Governments Employers Support organisations

Vision for progress Employment culture change Predictive labour market data

Environment for progress Investment in supply chains Skills validation

Framework for long-term skills supply Better use of skills Life-long learning

THERE IS A PREDICTEDDECLINE OF 9% IN THENUMBERS OF YOUNG

PEOPLE AGED 15 TO 24BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

The Governmentshould provide a vision for thenation and lead in identifying engineering skillsdemand and frameworks that underpin their long-term supply and use. The Institution of MechanicalEngineers believes Government should:

Publish a clear cross-departmental vision for UKengineering skills needs that informs business,education and training planning;

Engage the engineering community to producea plan to raise the profile of engineering ineducation curriculums at all ages;

Adapt the successful Skills for Scotlandprogramme for the rest of the UK to contributeto skills utilisation.

Engineering employersshould recognisethat a demand-led system brings additionalresponsibilities as well as potential benefits.The Institution believes industry should:

Coordinate skills investment with supply chainsto ensure long term benefits for all;

Invest in work-place and business-practiceculture change to attract more young people,including more women, into engineering;

Promote engineering and the studyof subjects that lead to engineeringas part of their Corporate and SocialResponsibility programmes.

The professionand other support organisations

should help identify skills needs and promotelearning and skills validation. The Institutionbelieves the profession should:

Work to create more robust and reliablepredictions of future skills needs;

Create more flexible routes into engineeringincluding those for late entrants;

Coordinate an industry-led careersservice to attract more graduates intoengineering occupations.

Table 8:Estimating the implications of demand projections for the supply of engineering graduates

DIUS projects a demand for NQF level 4 engineers (demand through

replacements and expansion) between 2007 and 2017 of: 220,000

EngineeringUK[11]report that about 63% of UK domiciled engineering graduates

enter engineering & technology occupations on graduation. Assuming this

ratio remains constant, we can estimate the total number of engineering

graduates needed to meet the above projection (220,000 graduates entering

engineering occupations). 349,200

From this we can subtract:

1. The number of engineering graduates known to have left university

in the four years from 2007 to 2010 (47,400)

2. The number of engineering graduates predicted to graduate in the sevenyears from 2011 to 2017. This is calculated using an annual average of 12,000

(for reference the actual number of graduations in 2010 was 11,800). (84,000)

Between them these add up to: (131,400)

Subtracting 131,400 from 349,200 leaves a balance of: 217,800

This is the estimated number of graduates that would be needed to meet the

IER forecast of demand by 2017, and beyond current graduation levels.

To meet this demand we would have to increase annual engineering graduations

from about 12,000 per year to about 31,100 with immediate effect.

Notes:

1. We have assumed that the data relates to UK domiciled engineering graduates

as these make up the vast majority of engineers employed in the UK.

2. The projection of demand takes no account of recent macroeconomic changesin the economy; it also assumes current patterns of behaviour continue.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.


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52 S SJoberg and C Scheiner How do learners in differentcultures relate to science and technology? (Asia-PacificForum on Science and Learning, Volume 6, Issue 2,December2005)

53 When STEM; A question of age(Institution of MechanicalEngineers, May 2010)

54 R T Tai, C Q Liu, A V Maltese, X T Fan Planning early forcareers in science; Science 312 [5777], pp. 11431144; 2006)

55 Ambition 2020, The 2010 Report, Key Findings andImplications for Action(UK Commission for Employmentand Skills)

56 The career thinking of UK engineering undergraduates(CRAC Ltd, 2007)

57 STEM graduates in Non-STEM jobs,BIS Research PaperNo.31; March 2011

58 The UK Graduate Survey 2011(High Flyers Research,May 2011)

59 Talent wars, The struggle for tomorrows workforce:A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit(The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008)

60 Christopher Box, Ron Collard, Henrick Van Cappelle,Tomorrows workforce: Securing the talent to succeed(Intelligence Digest, PriceWaterhouseCoopers)

61 Hidden Wealth: the contribution of science to the servicesector innovation(Royal Society, July 2009)

62 Ambition 2020, The 2010 Report, Key Findings andImplications for Action(UK Commission for Employmentand Skills)

63 National Strategic Skills Audit for England 2010(UKCES)


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