UK Faces Engineering Skills Gap

The UK economy is facing an engineering skills gap and needs 87,000 new engineers a year over the next decade warns a new report launched by Unite the union.

Launched in parliament, the report, 'Engineering excellence - a charter for UK engineering', urges the government to do more to support engineering and calls for an ‘engineered in Britain, bought in Britain’ approach to public procurement.

The report goes on to call for companies to shorten supply chains and reshore jobs back to the UK to ensure they fulfil customer demands more quickly and flexibly, as well as the creation of a government backed strategic investment bank to support engineering.

Commenting, Linda McCulloch national officer for Unite said: "We need urgent action to close the engineering skills gap to ensure we rebalance the economy and have sustainable growth.

"As our report suggests a lack of a joined up, robust industrial policy means the UK is still excessively reliant on service sector jobs and is contributing to the creation of a low wage, low skilled economy.

"To develop a strong economy we need a strong engineering base. The government needs to do more by pursuing an ‘engineered in Britain, bought in Britain’ policy. It also needs to create a strategic investment bank that backs engineering and manufacturing.

"This report is the first time Unite representatives and key industry players such as the EEF, Engineering UK and Semta, have come together to develop a coherent strategy to drive UK engineering forward."

(CD/MH)