PM launches scheme to tackle engineering shortfall

The Prime Minister has thrown his weight behind an industry scheme designed to add 100,000 engineering technicians to the UK’s skills-short technical industries by 2018.
Tue, 25 Jun 2013The Prime Minister has thrown his weight behind an industry scheme designed to add 100,000 engineering technicians to the UK’s skills-short technical industries by 2018.

Yesterday, David Cameron hosted a Downing Street visit of a full-size replica of the British Bloodhound Super Sonic Car to promote the scheme, and spoke with Andy Green who will pilot the vehicle.

A spokesperson for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) tells Recruiter it is part of a goal to “double the talent pipeline into engineering”.

IMechE is partnering with the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and receiving funding from charity the Gatsby Foundation to tackle the engineering and construction skills gap.

The spokesperson tells Recruiter the joint, cross-industry approach chose to target the engineering technician position as “we feel that’s an area that we can do a lot more work together… [and] we really need to recruit a lot more engineering technicians”.

This is not just a UK problem – a recent global survey from recruiter Manpower found skilled trade workers, engineers and technicians again amongst the top four skills shortages globally. And as noted in Recruiter's June Sector Analysis on the oil & gas industry, these deep-ingrained talent scarcities exert great pressure on recruiters.
Under the scheme, all engineering technician apprentices completing the course attain the globally recognised professional designation of Engineering Technician (EngTech).

PM Cameron says: “Apprenticeships are at the heart of our mission to rebuild the economy, giving young people the chance to learn a trade and to build their careers, creating a truly world-class, high-skilled workforce that can compete and thrive in the global race.”

Apprenticeships across all industries exceeded 500,000 nationally last year, as previously reported by recruiter.co.uk.

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