Tackling Engineering Skills Shortages

Phil Gillard, General Manager, SolutionsPT

In my conversations with our Systems Integration (SI) community, one of the normal topics which raises its head is the shortage of good quality engineering resource. During these discussions we normally start to debate how the SI community can take advantage of their extended supply chain and look to receive pre-packaged hardware and software which can save them time and risk in their projects. 

EngineeringUK reports that there will also be demand for around 69,000 people qualified at advanced apprenticeship or equivalent level each year, yet around 27,000 UK apprentices a year currently qualify at the appropriate level.

While at a recent event on Virtualisation I was lucky to speak with a young engineer. My conversation with him was very different; he described how his employer is attracting and retaining good talent, his employer is providing a work environment which allows him to continue to gain academic qualification whilst giving him access to stimulating projects in multiple industries. He told me that he was allowed to dedicate one day per week to obtaining an MSc, whilst working on projects in the water, chemical and automotive industries.

So what is your organisation doing to combat the engineering skills shortages?