The decline of the engineering profession

[Spuffler]

What dismays me is the attitude generally to engineering as both a profession or job, and as a business in this country. I'm sure that students are led to see it as "uncool" or offering a good career. Banks see it as not conforming to their fast-buck mentality (that's why they don't want to lend to manufacturing businesses - they don't get an instant return.) Governments seem to see it as unworthy of their consideration or support. I really don't understand why it should be so.

At the same time, we frequently how much better Germany is at engineering. They aren't in my view - but their engineers are far better managed. And they are willing to invest and take a much longer term view. But if, when we seem to idolise and envy their engineering, why don't we analyse what makes them so good, and do the same? Not rocket science, is it...? (Or maybe it should be!!!)

Mod edit: I've split this from "Volunteer at Poundland" as a) It's a slightly different topic and b) it's an important subject which deserves a thread of its own: DM

[Spuffler]

Yes, when I learned engineering, although I was to be an electronics engineer, I had to learn all sorts of things, including soldering metals, rivetting, welding, casting, turning, how to use a shaper... There seems to be almost nothing of this now. Even graduates doing a two-year graduate training period (institution - approved!) don't get their hands dirty. Everything - no, EVERYTHING - is about computers; whatever the computer tells them is gospel. One consequence is that errors in reasoning go unnoticed; I learned to use a slide rule, and you have to use your brain to decide the magnitude of the answer before you calculate it. That gives you a 'feel' for what you are doing. There is a big disconnect now between what is on the computer screen and reality, and our engineers are less able because of it; they also have less job satisfaction, and that in turn leads to less commitment to engineering.

I interviewed a lot of young 'engineers' during my career, and so often in recent years, the answer to the question "What do you expect to be doing in two years time?" is effectively "Anything but engineering." Sales, management, PR are the most common answers. These people never wanted to be engineers, they just see it as a stepping stone to 'better things', and our performance as an engineering country is diminished because of it. I find it difficult to understand, I enjoyed engineering all my working life, and still, now that I am retired, I enjoy an engineering challenge.

Flapdoodle, you said "I don't think the UK even understands what Engineers do!" : no it doesn't! There was an argument in our local paper, which I contributed to, about what an engineer is, and most people insisted that anyone who can wield a file or a hammer is an engineer; few described it as a profession. And there's the rub, isn't it? Engineers are largely looked down on by society at large - strange, considering the same people look up to Germany as a country of great engineers!!

[dutchman]

Coventry and Warwickshire business leaders call for shake-up to prevent widening skills gap

A RADICAL shake-up of the way young people are prepared for the world of work is needed if the UK is to avoid a widening of the skills gap, according to new research.

Employer Demand for Skills in Coventry and Warwickshire was commissioned by the Local Enterprise Partnership alongside the local Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses, learning providers and JobCentre Plus all took part in the research and findings show a drastic need for a change in the system.

The report found that a shortage of skills particularly where employers require a ‘high level’ of skill meant certain positions were going unfilled. And, as well as a lack of skilled operatives such as CNC machine operatives, engineering and management roles were also proving harder to come by. One of the key recommendations is that learning providers need to focus on developing personal qualities.

Daniel Gidney, chairman of the LEP’s skills group, said: “There is a real opportunity for learning providers to meet the gaps in provision.

“There is a clear demand for courses in project management with roots in practice rather than theory. In Coventry and Warwickshire we still have longstanding unfilled vacancies for HGV drivers, social care and sales positions.

“Whether you are a school, a college, a university or a work-based learning provider, the message is clear, we need to prioritise educational activity to specific employment opportunities and become genuinely demand led.”

[Spuffler]

“There is a clear demand for courses in project management with roots in practice rather than theory." Exactly! People need to understand that there is nothing wrong in getting their hands dirty in order to make a living! Indeed, there is often far more satisfaction in having something tangible made by one's own pair of hands than in something generated on a computer screen, or a heap of paper.

The pendulum always swings both ways, doesn't it? We've hopefully started a swing back from the extreme of no-one believing in work involving manual effort towards a restitution of good manual skills as something of value and pride; what we need is a balance of both manual and theoretical skills - one can't really exist and prosper without the other. Let's hope this initiative will bear fruit, the country certainly needs it.

We've also seen what happens in Greece when the pendulum swings too far one way, too quickly. Greece has rapidly gone from being a relatively poor nation of manual and farm workers into a nation where up and coming young people have been almost all university educated - that has been all parents' aim for them to have a 'better future'; and where has it got them? Certainly not to prosperity as a nation. The same thing happened in Korea a while back, but they pulled back from the brink, whereas Greece looks like going over the brink. ALL nations MUST strike a balance if they are to have a good future, and a stable economy. And that's something our government, and our educators, need to remember and act on!

[dutchman]

Jaguar Land Rover in bid to encourage young people into engineering

BOSSES at Jaguar Land Rover will be speaking to thousands of teenagers today in a bid to get more young people to consider careers in engineering and technology.

The luxury car manufacturer – which has plants in Coventry and Gaydon, south Warwickshire – is the lead sponsor to The Big Bang science and engineering fair at Birmingham’s NEC.

The call to youngsters comes as a new survey revealed that engineering remains a minority interest among UK teenagers – with just20 per cent surveyed saying they had considered it as a career.

JLR executive director Mike Wright said: “The success of our global business – and the UK economy – lies in engineering and innovation.

“JLR has ambitious plans for growth and this can only be supported by innovation in new products, engines and environmental technologies.

“We are the UK’s leading investor in automotive research and development and we are successfully delivering breakthroughs in engineers, performance and sustainability.

“However, it’s critical that we attract talented young people to become the next generation of engineers and technologists.

“We have a wide range of educational initiatives underway with the aim of getting young people excited about engineering.”

[Spuffler]

The problem, though, is twofold:
1. young people expect a good career with good pay;
2. the government is doing little or nothing to encourage young people into engineering.

Whilst financial spivs can get away with rip-off behaviour and paying themselves obscene pay and bonuses for their dodgy behaviour, why should young people take on a career that is hard work both to learn and to practise? Time someone led by example!

[dutchman]

Rolls Royce launch apprenticeships in engineering

ENGINEERING giant Rolls Royce has teamed up with Warwickshire College and Training 2000 to launch 200 apprenticeships at its Ansty base.

Participants are not guaranteed a job with Rolls Royce but are helped to find a job with local companies.

Visit http://theapprenticeshipacademy.com

[Spuffler]

Erm, how does that fit with comments about Ansty probably closing due to government cutbacks in defence.....?

[dutchman]

Erm, how does that fit with comments about Ansty probably closing due to government cutbacks in defence.....?

Wish I knew Spuffler but it's not all bad news on the engineering front:

Aston Martin opens training academy as production expands



A new training academy has been opened by a luxury car maker in Warwickshire.

Aston Martin has taken on 230 new employees in the past two months as it prepares to transfer production of the Rapide model from Austria to its headquarters at Gaydon.

Training will be carried out by staff recruited from the company's own production lines.

The 1,400 sq m (15,000 sq ft) training academy includes technical working areas and classrooms.

The company said it had worked in conjunction with the Science Engineering and Manufacturing Training Association to offer employees the chance to train for nationally recognised qualifications.

[Spuffler]

Did you see the BBC2 programme about the cushion maker? I think the message is very clear. We can't compete with China and India on their terms; we have to invest in machinery - automation, mechanical aids, etc., and then we can more than compete, especially as the Chinese demand more pay and better working conditions. Also key was training - the owner said that he needed to sort out how he trained his staff.

Clearly, it CAN be done!