Three big issues in 2012

London – In the run-up to the recent holiday period I got to quiz a good number of UK engineers, from both suppliers and end users, on the main issues facing their companies in 2012. Their answer was not, as some might guess, the recession, the Eurozone crisis, technology-change or cyber security. Instead, the single recurring concern was the shortage of engineering skills.

This feedback strongly suggested that the lack of people with the necessary skills, in areas ranging from welding and mechanical engineering to electrical engineering and electronics, is now hitting the process industries where it really hurts: holding back upgrades and expansion projects in industries as diverse as oil & gas, petrochemicals, metals, power and water.

A concerning side-effect here is that systems integrators as well as UK manufacturers of equipment and components are being forced to outsource work to places such as India and eastern Europe. Even more worrying are the reports that the quality of work overseas is often proving eye-openingly superior to that on offer domestically.

In the News Analysis section of tProcess Engineering’s Jan/Feb issue (see p9), we find that skills shortages are not unique to the UK, but are also of concern in North America, the EU, Asia and the Middle East.

The problems facing UK industry, though, seem particularly deep-seated. Looking to lessons from countries such as Japan and Germany, it seems there is a need here for a much more joined up approach to tackling this vital issue.

This could mean far closer collaboration between educators, employers, technology agencies, skills academies and other training bodies, as well as, perhaps, a reappraisal of the ‘employer-led’ training mantra of the last three decades. Taken as a whole, the UK’s current approach to restoring the engineering skills base, frankly, just ain’t working.