Engineer shortage threatens UK’s low-carbon future

Britain’s future prospects as a low carbon economy could be jeopardised by engineering being viewed as a “dirty and menial” subject to study at university.

Interviews conducted with 14-19 year olds on behalf of the National Grid found young people view engineering as a subject suited to less academic students.

Over 1,300 young people were interviewed for the ‘Engineering Our Future’ report, which concluded that parents and teachers view engineers as “blue collar men in overalls who fix things”.

The National Grid said home-grown engineers will be vital to Britain’s future energy security.

“We know from our own workforce planning that nearly 1,000 new roles are needed by 2020,” said Steve Holliday, National Grid chief executive.

“We need to inspire today’s youth and help them to see how exciting and interesting a career in engineering can be.

“With the UK on the cusp of an energy revolution, it is essential that the industry has a pipeline of talent coming through in the long term to help support the transition to a low carbon economy.”

Tony Moloney, manager of UK learning and development at National Grid, said there is no need to push the panic button yet.

“We’re just taking action now because the changes we make today only start to take affect in five years,” he said.

“That’s why we have to start banging the drum a bit.”