Engineering employment

Engineering is rapidly becoming one of the most popular career paths available to young people in the UK as of 2018. With multiple benefits in terms of salary, transferable skills, variety of opportunities and the overall need for qualified engineers in 2019, the industry itself is becoming increasingly competitive. Young engineers are required to learn more, adapt faster and have a much broader knowledge base to be successful in their field, with more skills than ever in demand from high profile companies.

So what exactly do you need to get a job in engineering?

A wide variety of hands-on experience

Engineering as a role comes in many different forms, from vehicle maintenance to structural design. This means that as a potential candidate, you will need to understand as many different types of engineering as possible – or at least have a detailed awareness of their requirements – to find the right role for you. You will need to be able to get your hands dirty, interact with clients and business owners, deliver to deadlines and understand the aesthetic qualities of high-quality engineering to impress your potential bosses. Over 40% of employers believe that engineering students lack the practical experience to succeed in their field, so it’s crucial that you gain as much hands-on practice as you can.

Good quality training

Where you trained and how you learnt your engineering skills could be the deciding factor when it comes to interviewing for the job you want. Companies and industries are looking for reputable training courses, with a high turnover of successful and skilled graduates, so make sure you choose your path wisely during your training period. Big name academies, specialised training schools and colleges are likely to provide you with a detailed and practical experience of engineering that can seriously impress a recruiter. They can also help you to describe in detail some of the skills you gained there, the techniques and modules you excelled in and the benefits you found from studying there – illustrating your learning ability and enthusiasm for engineering.

Excellent relationships and references

Whilst engineering is not typically considered a high profile client-facing role, there are certain requirements of the profession that require good relationship management and interacting with your peers. Being able to cite teachers with a great reputation in their field, deliver glowing references and describing the lessons you learned from an independent one-on-one tutor is bound to help you make a great impression on your interviewer. It can also help you to mention some of the engineers who inspired you throughout your training, whether it be through their attention to detail, innovative thinking or professionalism in a tough situation – demonstrating not only humility but respect for colleagues as well.

An organic demonstration of technical knowledge

Most companies and industries will prefer their candidates to feel comfortable and confident in their own abilities when it comes to talking shop. It’s important to understand your trade and the requirements expected of you, but also to deliver a demonstration of it organically and authentically. Candidates who repeat their latest textbook or lecture slide word for word can appear under confident and overly rehearsed, giving the impression that they only learnt their skills in time for the interview. Being able to have a natural and thoughtful conversation about your chosen field of engineering will benefit you greatly when it comes to impressing interviews, particularly if you can drop in a few references to skills you picked up during training.

Beginning a career in engineering can be an exciting and life-changing journey, and where you trained can have a serious impact on your future career path. So why not choose a certified, independent and experienced academy like CEATA, and do some good for your future.

The UK faces an engineering shortfall, with the number of engineering jobs exceeding the number of people entering the sector.

Although 5.7 million employees work at registered engineering companies in the UK, comprising 19% of the total UK’s total employment, the number of roles is still expected to increase.

Amid concerns that the supply of engineers will not be able to meet this demand, CEATA takes a look at Engineering UK’s latest report on the state of engineering.

Emerging industries

Continual developments in manufacturing equipment have led to an increase in automation within engineering. Industry turnover reached £198 billion in 2016, marking an increase of 23.5% over a five-year period.

Big data is another sector that continues to grow. Forecasts indicate that it will create 157,000 new jobs by 2020. Strong growth is also expected across architecture and engineering, with 3D printing, resource-efficient sustainable production and robotics driving these developments.

New technology is also shaping the employment requirements of the rail and road infrastructure. Network Rail’s upgrade plan is the largest modernisation programme since Victorian times. It will see an estimated requirement of 7,200 engineering and technical workers by 2020.

Demand forecasts

Forecasts show that the UK will require 124,000 engineers and technicians with core engineering skills per year. Coupled with the current rates of engineering talent emerging from education, this gives an estimated annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers.

Attracting and retaining talent from the EU and beyond is one way of helping to address this shortfall. However, the proportion of UK engineering students is becoming too low to be sustainable in the long-term. It is therefore important to focus on attracting domestic students as a priority.

Factoring in the demand for engineers trained to Level 3+, the estimated shortfall across the sector is between 83,000, and 110,000.

How can we curb the engineering shortfall?

With such dramatic shortfalls predicted, it is important to redouble efforts to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) education and to attract young people into engineering. The government has already put in place various strategies designed to tackle this. The apprenticeship levy facilitates apprenticeships in more companies, allowing engineering firms and students to benefit from the apprenticeship fund. The new assessment system for GCSEs and A Levels uses a number grading system instead of a letter-based one. This allows for better comparison with vocational qualifications such as NVQs.

However, more must be done to bring young people into engineering, particularly women. Less than 1 in 8 engineers are female, and boys are 3.5 times more likely to study A Level Physics. This male-dominance is one reason for females avoiding STEM subjects, which they perceive as being “too manly”. Education facilities should encourage students to make informed decisions that maintain the option of a career in engineering or technology.

While focus must be put on attracting new interest in engineering and providing the future workforce with the necessary skills to fill the employment requirements, care must also be taken to retain, motivate and upskill those who are already in the engineering sector. This includes analysing what makes people want to stay in particular roles and making necessary changes to make the engineering workplace inviting to all, including women and other underrepresented minorities.

Engineering training at CEATA

At CEATA, we are passionate about helping people to enter the engineering workforce. We’re doing our bit to curb the engineering shortfall by offering a wide range of engineering training courses from one-off short courses through to engineering apprenticeships. We want to give the engineers of tomorrow the skills they need to succeed.

Check out our course list or get in touch to find out more.