Engineering is in crisis in the UK. There is something of a brain drain from the country. More people are choosing to leave the UK and head abroad in a bid for higher wages and sunnier climes. But, the shortage could spell disaster for the UK if the issue is not addressed. So, what is the UK government doing to fix the problem with the engineering sector?
Towards the latter end of 2014, business leaders urged the government to take more proactive action regarding the issues that the industry was facing. The UK is not alone in this shortage. The US, and most of Europe is a facing a similar crisis. The lack of engineers is something that needs to be tackled. Without this skill set, the UK could be faced with being left behind. These skills are imperative for any country to grow and adapt. Technological, scientific and environmental change can all be spearheaded by engineers within their niche. As such, a lack of these brilliant brains could lead to the UK being left behind.
Science and engineering as a whole are facing a shortfall in the UK. The decline of science has been widely felt.
The Boost that is Needed For Britain
Businesses need to ensure that they are honing their professionals within their enterprises to avoid this shortage. The prevalence of engineering related courses and seminars is now conducted widely in the US. The UK is yet to follow. The US is paving the way for more engineers. Private companies hold injection molding seminars, software engineering talks and materials based seminars. All of these are ensuring that the US is shortening the gap between engineers in their country. But, the UK is yet to catch on. As it stands, there are 81,000 people needed in the UK to fill the gap. Development of software such as a Mesh Free Particle Based CFD Simulation Software can help industries even with minimal intervention from engineering professionals.
Changes in Attitudes
While businesses are ruining the government to take further action, it is said that UK schools need to do more too. There need to be more onus on hard subjects, like the sciences to see an increase in interest. Young people need to start studying the STEM subjects to ensure that they have brilliant career prospects. But, schools in the UK are doing very little to encourage this kind of subjects. In the principal, the curriculum needs to be changed to provide students with the basic and fundamental skills to go into this type of work.
Fixing the Problem
The government in the UK is all too aware of these systemic problems. According to the Perkins Review, it’s down to the schools and the government to hone this love of engineering and hard science. The current government is implementing more programs that are focussed on innovation and technology. In the next 20 years, the demand for these 81,000 jobs should be met. But, there also needs to be more focus on parents to encourage their children into the hard sciences.
Only with this, from schools, businesses and changes to the education system, will the UK be advanced enough to deal with the changes in the scientific and the digital age.
