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As an Engineering recruitment specialist we know there is a serious lack of engineering talent in the UK. According to the 2018 Engineering UK report, 37,000-59,000 engineering graduates and technicians are required annually to plug the current employer shortfall. We’ve shared numerous articles on the subject via social media, but this time we wanted to take a different angle and look at the positive steps that are being taken in the Engineering sector to help solve the crisis.
The government announced that 2018 is the Year of Engineering and has been a government led initiative to celebrate everything good about engineering. It forms an important part of the Industrial Strategy which is aimed at boosting the perception of engineering across the UK and showcasing what an exciting and creative career it can be. It’s a campaign which has had the buy in from hundreds of organisations, schools, colleges and universities. The Big Bang Fair is one such initiative and an event I have visited in the past and have written about.
Visit our previous Blog to find out what the Big bang Fair is all about!
Tomorrows Engineers is a platform where employers are able to develop and grow their talent pipeline delivering national impact through local initiatives. So far it has reached 300,000 young people in the past year with the aim of creating a national impact of employers working locally to reach young people every year. Tomorrow’s Engineers brings a strategic approach to engagement with schools and builds links with industry. Some of Tomorrow’s Engineers events include initiatives like the Robotics Challenge and the popular Big Bang Fair.
James Dyson, the inventor of the Dyson vacuum, opened the Dyson Institute of Technology in September 2017 to help bridge the serious skills gap in Engineering. Students of the university have no fees to pay and instead receive a salary working alongside Dyson engineers on upcoming products. The Degrees are being awarded by Warwick University until Dyson is able to gain fully fledged University status.
Thousands of Coding Clubs are being set up across the country encouraging youngsters to understand the technology that sits behind their beloved smartphone and hi-tech gadgets we all find hard to live without. There are currently 4,600 coding clubs across the country and 65,000 children.
Engineering careers are some of the most impactful and exciting, but something most people don’t realise is that modern engineering offers them the chance to be creative, inventive and shape the world around them.
A common belief is that Engineering is boring and complex so people tend to opt for far more attractive careers. However, what most people don’t realise is that engineering goes far beyond men in white coals and yellow hard hats. What young people might not know is that the gadgets they can’t live without have all been constructed through engineering in some form or another.
Once this is realised we could open up the engineering world to youngsters and people considering a career change who may never have considered it as a career otherwise.
If you’d like to speak to someone about career opportunities in Engineering why not give Optima a call on 0116 303 3560.