I'm currently sitting in the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) automotive summit.
It's an annual event where the UK's car industry trade body pulls together the great and the good from the global car industry as well as a smattering of UK politicians.
As you may expect, the overall news is good. The UK industry is largely on a roll. Now 80 per cent of cars made here are exported and half of those go beyond Europe to markets such as China and the USA.
The value of those cars has also doubled in the past few years too, largely thanks to the numbers of luxury and premium cars we're making here and selling abroad.
One overriding theme that emerged, though, is a concern for the future. Not because we can't sustain this success but a concern about how we're going to get young people into the industry.
There simply aren't enough engineers and other skilled people coming through the system. Not enough people are studying core subjects such as electronic engineering at university. In fact, our universities are currently churning out about half the number of engineers we actually need.
A sobering fact came from Ian Harnett, purchasing director at Jaguar Land Rover. Out of a department which is now 1200-strong he has 109 vacancies that he's struggling to fill. This situation is reflected in his organisation and in the wider UK industry.
There are talented youngsters out there and we at Autocar know it better than most through running our annual Autocar Courland Next Generation Award. There just aren't enough youngsters who just 'want to make things'.
It strikes me that the government and educational establishments need to get on top of this before it's too late.
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I think a big part of the
The profession therefore gets seen as dirty, grubby, menial and not aspirational. Richard H's comment about engineers not knowing a spanner from a screwdriver throws this into sharp relief - he clearly doesn't know the difference between an engineer and a technician or mechanic. Not his fault; the fault of the Institute of Engineering & Technology and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, neither of which has done enough to promote the profession, and of a series of governments that didn't protect the title in the same way as "doctor", " barrister" or similar.
As an Engineer...
We need more technicians, we need more mechanics, its a shame (and wrong) that the title "engineer" has been hijacked but this is because the titles technician & mechanic have been allowed to degenerate and regarded as unskilled, which they most definately are not.As you say, the institutes are to blame for this & don't seem to care and only want to push graduate schemes. This gives the impression that a job in engineering or production is dirty and smelly, which most certainly isn't the case. In Germany an Engineer is respected, here, they think you're an oily rag. Its very wrong.
I agree in part, but you also have to look at the competition
Unfortunately, I doubt I'd ever make the switch to the Motor Industry myself, despite having many of the skills needed. I'm probably seen as too old, certainly too expensive, and the industry has had too many ups and downs (and a history of *not* retaining people when times get tough) for me to relocate.
My company pays graduates very well, and this continues further up the scale - there is a global talent war in the electronics sector. If JLR and motor industry in general aren't ready to pay then they aren't going to get the best people. Location in the midlands also means that they are far from the hub of electronics and software engineering in the Thames Valley.
My experience in schools and universities is that there are a great many talented young people out there who understand both the social value of engineering and that it can be a great career. However, recruiting companies need to take a long-term view of their people if they are to attract and retain the best. That means world-class training and benefits, great career paths, and good salaries. This is as true for technician grades as for engineers.
Yes, the IET and Royal Academy are useless, but I long-since gave up worrying about it.
Same in other UK engineering