Research reveals that the UK is at a skills shortage crisis as women engineers make up only 9% of the industry’s professionals.

There was a time when the UK was at the global forefront of the engineering world.

However, today sees it at the bottom of the pile.

According to the Women’s Engineering Society, it has the lowest percentage of female engineers in the whole of Europe.

Consequently, it lags behind Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Latvia, who lead with 30% of women making up their engineering workforce.

Women engineers
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UK needs to increase number of women engineers

Thus, the UK’s low number of female engineers is a legitimate cause for alarm.

Further statistics reveal that a lack of gender diversity in the industry is concerning a majority of employers.

In that vein, 64% of employers report that their business is in a precarious state due to the shortage of engineers in the UK.

Additionally, the not-for-profit organisation EngineeringUK also has chilling data. It reports that the country will need an additional 1.8 million engineers by as soon as 2025.

In order to compensate for the lack of available talent, the nation is sourcing qualified personnel from abroad.

Yet, women represent a solution to a skill gap that is undermining the entire engineering industry.

Women engineers - Compelo
Shutterstock/By sirtravelalot

Upon speaking to online platform the Engineer, former president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Naomi Climer offered insight:

“There are so many big and global, as well as small and local, challenges for engineers to crack that we need all the talent we can get.

“This is not about doing the right of fair thing for women. It’s a compelling economic and societal issue to train as many talented engineers as we can”.

She further elaborates on her solution:

“One way to improve the pipeline would be to persuade more women and minority groups that engineering could be a great career choice for them”.

Thus, women would provide the qualifications and skills that the industry sorely needs.

Additionally, their presence, along with other cultural groups, could also aid in innovation.

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