Great Britain Is Facing A Severe Shortage Of Engineers

14 Nov 2013

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) is asking colleges and schools to gauge not just on their academic achievements of the leavers but also on the employment, education and training destinations.

As the institution launches a new framework for the education, industry and Government to work together in narrowing the gap between the supply and demand of engineers, it recommends this as one of the key measures to be implemented.

IME’s Head of Education, Peter Finegold, said the UK is facing a severe skill shortage of engineers and it is clear that to attract and train more engineers in UK, much more needs to be done.

He said a critical problem is that many young prospective engineers are not clearly informed by colleges and schools about potential careers in engineering, and measuring an institute’s success on the students’ progress after they’ve left school would be a crucial way of encouraging better careers advice.

Finegold said that, to develop meaningful relationships with colleges and schools, it is imperative that the Government works to make it more attractive for industry, especially smaller companies.