£30m to boost women in engineering

Skills & enterprise minister Matthew Hancock announced the fund last week. It is designed to help engineering firms establish training programmes to help develop future talent.

According to the department for business, innovation & skills (BIS), at least £10 million of the fund will be directed towards an initiative of “Developing Women Engineers”, while £10 million will be used to help improve engineering careers.

Without women, UK companies are missing out on a vast pool of talent

Nicky Morgan MP

Minister for women Nicky Morgan said: “We need to move away from the perception that engineering is a ‘man’s world’. Without women pursuing careers in engineering, UK companies are missing out on a vast pool of talent.”

A further £10 million will be made available in the autumn to develop engineering skills in smaller companies.

“In order to allow UK engineering to grow and compete on the world stage we need a guaranteed supply of highly skilled and talented engineers,” said Hancock, who was speaking at the launch of the ‘Manufacture your Future’ initiative.

“By supporting employers to develop the workforce of the future and bring more women into the engineering, we’re empowering the industry to unlock its potential,” he added.

Thursday’s announcement forms part of the government’s “Employer Ownership Fund” that enables employers to design training projects that can address skills shortages holding back their business, providing 50% match funding to employers, BIS said.

The “Developing Women Engineers” and “Improving Engineering Careers” are the first of a series of focused calls, centred on priority sectors that play a key role in ensuring the UK’s global economic competitiveness.

Each initiative has been launched as a direct response to recommendations made in the Perkins Review, published in November 2013, a government statement said.

Meanwhile, industry representatives welcomed the announcement, commenting on the vital role women should play in the future of UK engineering.

“The lack of engineering skills in the UK has become a ticking time-bomb, and manufacturers are investing heavily in their current and future workforces to prevent it from exploding,” said Terry Scuoler, chief executive of the manufacturers’ organisation EEF.

“This must include investing in all sections of our workforce, in particular women where the UK has an especially poor record.”