Engineers all, but some are more in demand than others

What's in a name? Well, if you call yourself an engineer — and if you receive PE regularly, you do — you know all about the never-ending arguments over the use and abuse of that word. Depending on which dictionary you prefer, you will variously be described as anything from 'a person qualified in a branch of engineering, esp as a professional' to 'a person who maintains machines, a mechanic, a technician' (© Concise Oxford). But does it really matter?

To a large extent, of course it doesn't. In a nation with an engineering pedigree stretching back beyond Brunel, the Stevensons and other titans of the industrial revolution, professional engineers have to accept the popular perception of engineering as very much a practical, not theoretical, occupation. Yes, we can resort to the 'application of science' definition, but the profession needs to retain that air of practical reality.

This view is supported to some extent by the Engineering Council's latest annual salary survey. While confirming that most fully qualified engineers enjoy good salaries and prospects (with CEng chartered engineers averaging £44 803 a year), the survey highlights a growing shortage of 'practically-oriented engineers' — typically, those holding the professional Incorporated Engineer qualification. Salaries for this group have shot up by 11 per cent over the year, compared with an overall rise for all engineers of just 5 per cent.

Such increased demand for more practical engineers is not a short-term trend either. Over the last five years, salaries at the incorporated level have gone up by 36 per cent, compared with the sector average of only 22 per cent.

According to the Engineering Council's director general Malcolm Shirley: 'We are confronted almost daily with anecdotes and academic reports about skills' shortages. While opinions about the problem vary, there is no arguing with the facts from the marketplace. The shortage of engineers with strong practical training is forcing their price up, and the position is unlikely to improve in the short term. This gives a clear signal to sixth formers with the right A-levels as to which degree courses are most likely to put them on a fast track to worthwhile well-paid careers.'

Did someone say 'well-paid' again? Well, yes. Surprisingly, only a quarter of international engineers surveyed by Cadcentre at Achema earlier this year said they would be happier if their salary and incentive packages were any larger. Reinforcing our main theme, one of the main points coming out of that survey was a call for better qualified staff — to go along with the integrated IT systems that the respondents also thought were lacking in the engineering industry.

Having evolved from 'product vendor' to self-styled 'total IT services partner', Cadcentre clearly has designs on the latter shortfall, but neither it nor other suppliers can do much to address the main issue — how to attract more people, at whatever level, into engineering. As the Council's salary survey shows, that's the rôle of employers in the marketplace.