What is the future of the UK’s Engineering industry?

Engineering UK has conducted an annual report on the state of the UK’s Engineering industry.

According to their report:

• 19% of the UK’s total workforce are employed in the Engineering sector.
• 27% of UK businesses are registered in the Engineering sector.
• Engineering generated 23% (£1.23 trillion) of the UK’s total turnover for the financial year ending 31 March 2016.
• The percentage of young people aged between 11–19 that would consider a career in Engineering has risen from 40% in 2013 to 51% in 2017.
• There is an annual demand for 124,000 Engineers and Technicians with core Engineering skills across the economy.

Engineering UK’s findings show that just under one in five (5.66 million) people in the UK workforce were working in an Engineering company. This is split into 42.3% in Manufacturing, 19.5% in Information & Communication and 17.2% in Construction.

The report shows that there is an annual shortfall of Engineering graduates and technicians to fill core Engineering roles, estimated to be up to 59,000 people.

In light of the shortfall, the UK government published an industrial Engineering strategy in November 2017. The strategy stressed the importance of economic growth, productivity and education in driving key Engineering skills.

This was followed by a careers strategy for England by the Department for Education, which set out a plan to improve careers advice and guidance in the sector.

Although a skills shortage has been predicted, statistics show that in England, there was actually a 7.4% increase in Engineering-related apprenticeship starts in the academic year 2015/2016. The total amount of people starting an apprenticeship across England, Scotland and Wales in this field during this timeframe was 126,059.

In 2015/2016, 163,255 Higher Education students were studying Engineering and Technology subjects. This was an increase of just 1% from the previous year.

Engineering UK reported that:

Engineering and Technology graduates have strong earnings potential. With a mean starting salary of £25,607, Engineering and Technology first degree graduates earned 18.0% more than the average for a graduate in the six months after leaving university.

Stream Resourcing has seen first-hand the changes in the Engineering market since their inception in 2000. In both permanent and contract staffing solutions, the demand for experienced, skilled Engineers has increased.

With over 25 dedicated, specialist Consultants and Account Managers, including former Engineering or Manufacturing professionals, Stream Resourcing ensures you have the skills and talent you need, when you need it.

We operate globally within the Engineering industry, specialising specifically within:

• Aerospace & Defence
• Automotive
• Electronics & Software
• IT & Information Security
• Medical Device & Scientific Instrumentation
• Specialist Engineering

We provide our staffing solutions to all phases of the Engineering and Manufacturing process, from Research & Development to Production and Testing.

If you would like to know more about our bespoke recruitment solutions, please contact us on info@streamresourcing.com.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a new job role, you can conduct a job search on our website here:

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References:

1. http://www.engineeringuk.com/umbraco/surface/report/ReturnReport/?file=pdf
2. http://www.engineeringuk.com/report-2018/