The UK is failing to encourage enough young people to pursue a career in plant and process engineering, the oil and gas sector, or manufacturing, compared with other countries.
This is the opinion of project engineer at Mills CNC Carl Patrick, who has spoken out about the lack of support for youngsters in Britain following a research project he conducted.
Last year, he was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship Grant to better understand the attitudes of students towards careers in engineering and manufacturing in America, Germany and Japan.
After speaking closely with young people, employers, education providers, and engineering promoters, he concluded this sector has a higher profile in these nations than the UK.
“With Brexit looming and the UK already experiencing a critical engineering skills gap, it is important that action is taken quickly in order to ensure the UK’s continuing growth and competitiveness,” he stated.
His research also found that young people in Germany, the US and Japan are typically encouraged to start thinking about jobs in these industries at a much earlier age, with initiatives being better funded than in Britain. Therefore, the campaigns are more consistent and are able to work more effectively.
Furthermore, he discovered that employees in engineering and manufacturing in the three countries are typically better paid compared with the UK.
Britain may be trying to encourage more talented young people to join the oil and gas industry, after a new survey could reveal where the skills gap lies in the sector.
The UKCS Workforce Dynamics Review stated 40,000 people need to join the sector by 2038 if the UK wants to meet its energy targets, the Eastern Daily Press reported.