Concerned that not only do engineering professionals often not get the recognition they deserve, but equally that the profession’s importance to society has been under-valued and under-acknowledged, especially given the past decade’s increasing focus on the service sector,
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) has called on all 36 UK engineering institutes, and each’s members, to “play their part in making the case that engineering is, and must be seen to be, at the heart of our national success”. Jonathan Baillie reports.
In the summer of 2008 IHEEM CEO John Long was among several senior UK engineering body representatives to provide supporting evidence to the Government’s parliamentary Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee (IUSCC) for its detailed enquiry into the “state” of the UK engineering sector (HEJ – August 2008 and May 2009). When the IUSS published its resulting “Engineering; turning ideas into reality” report, the document presented some alarming conclusions for the sector and its future, arguing, in particular, that the Government was “failing to seek timely engineering advice”, and that it “lacked detailed strategic planning for engineering policy”. The Committee also concluded that there was an urgent need for more trained and experienced engineers “at all levels of the civil service”. Another of the report’s key conclusions, which the latest Royal Academy of Engineering-co-ordinated drive to raise the profile of engineering seeks to address, is that, while both Government and the Committee are receptive to lobbying and ideas for taking UK engineering forward, the 36 individual engineering institutes often present a “mixed and rather confusing message”. Thus there was “a need to present a more unified, co-ordinated message to policymakers, politicians, engineering professionals, and the public”. In the past few months, with a general election looming, and the attendant opportunities to raise the sector’s profile among politicians from all parties, the Royal Academy of Engineering has been working with the major engineering institutes to develop what it describes as “an agenda to put engineering at the heart of society, and to increase markedly the role of engineering in supporting the formation and delivery of public policy”.
‘Opportunity for re-alignment’
In a letter sent to the presidents and CEOs of all 36 institutes (including IHEEM president Rob Smith), RAE president the Rt Hon. Lord Browne of Madingley said that, when the group established by the institutes to push forward the agenda met recently “to review progress”, members agreed “the financial situation”, and “the need to further diversify and re-tool for a low carbon future opportunity” provided “a much-needed opportunity for a significant re-aligment”. The group’s aim, the RAE president explained, would be to “create an environment in which engineering can flourish”, both by seeking more opportunities for the various institutes to work together, and by using the media more effectively to “bring into our thinking active members of the engineering institutions and their staff”. Accompanying the letter was a document put together by the RAE with input from members of the group, described as “A message from engineering leaders to all professional engineers”. The document, “A call to action – putting engineering at the heart of Britain’s future”, explains that the RAE, the engineering institutions, and Engineering UK, are “working closely together to promote the importance of engineering to political leaders, policymakers and the public” – something the paper identifies both as “a short-term, urgent challenge if we are to build the productive industries necessary for a balanced and successful economy” and “a long- term goal if we are to deliver solutions to the great challenges of our day, high quality and rewarding employment for the next generation of young people, and prosperity for the nation”.
Transforming the perception of engineering
The “call for action” explains that the group believes that, with co-ordinated efforts, the profession can “transform the perception of engineering and the recognition of its real value by working together and deploying the substantial strength of the UK’s engineers and technologists, of whom nearly 500,000 are members of professional engineering institutions, sucha s IHEEM”. It calls on both working and retired professional engineers to “join us in demonstrating that engineering is an essential part of a successful, modern society”. Calling on engineers to “get involved in communicating these messages”, the group argues that the “banking crisis and ensuing recession”, and the upcoming election, provide an opportunity to “remind people of the enduring worldclass capabilities of our scientists and engineers”. “The future of engineering and its place in society requires us to stand together when it really matters,” say the authors. The group says it has created an “engineering manifesto” for the coming general election to ensure the voice of engineers is heard. This outlines ways in which Government should support engineering and “promote a refocus of the UK’s economy towards innovation and enterprise”, via:
r Creating the necessary engineering and industrial skills base.
r Becoming a global leader in green technology
r Commercialising ideas from the science base.
r Strategic use of public procurement to promote innovation.
r Getting engineering advice into Government policy-making.
The paper explains that the group will be contributing its action plan to the manifesto writing teams of the main political parties “to encourage them to develop policies to achieve it”. It also urges engineers to discuss the key points with prospective parliamentary candidates of all parties, “at a time when they are likely to be most receptive”. The three particular issues the co-ordinating group says it is focusing on are:
r the delivery of robust and renewed national infrastructure, “including the low-carbon infrastructure we require to meet carbon targets”.
r an economy in which high technology innovation can flourish, “building on our success in, for example, aviation, defence, and engineering design and consultancy”.
r The skills and talents to deliver these challenges, “which means increasing the supply of young people equipped to meet the need”.
To deliver this agenda, the group says there needs to be a policy and fiscal environment that “puts more value on the productive industry that delivers real wealth and high quality jobs from innovation”. IHEEM CEO John Long, who sits on the Professional Panel of Engineering UK, which advises the organisation on areas relevant to the development of the engineering profession and aims both to provide a forum for debate on engineering issues, and to implement activities and initiatives of common interest, says: “Getting across a coherent message about the importance of the engineering profession to the UK economy and society is something that has been a distinct challenge to the 36 engineering institutionsto date, a challenge this ‘call to action’ is seeking to address.
‘Excessive focus’ on financial sector
“In my view, and I believe this is a standpoint shared by many other CEOs and presidents of UK engineering institutions, there has been excessive focus in recent years on the financial services sector, which tends often to bring only short-term gains to the economy and society, and has little in the way of firm underpinnings in the event of an economic crisis of the type we have experienced recently. Engineering, conversely, is a profession that underpins many of the services, and much of the infrastructure, on which we all rely, but which is currently receiving nothing like the media, public, and Government attention and profile it deserves. “Among the short-to-medium term priorities should be more emphasis on protecting current levels of investment in university engineering departments, coupled with greater financial incentives for industry, and in particular SMEs, to encourage the provision of placements. “There is also the opportunity, and here the healthcare engineering sector can play a significant part, for the UK to develop global leadership in both the lowcarbon energy to power a low-emission industrial base, and the low-energy processes that will make industry efficient and competitive. “I believe all the major engineering institutes would also welcome a more outcomes-focused procurement policy across the public sector to provide significant business opportunities for SMEs, and help promote emerging technologies, and for the Government to encourage and develop engineers within its own workforce, drawing on the professional engineering community’s expertise to ensure that this happens. “IHEEM will continue to liaise closely with the RAE and the other key engineering institutes to provide whatever input and assistance it can to this concerted drive to raise engineering’s profile, but individual members must also play their part by promoting engineering as a valuable career and a key element in the success of UK plc.”
