Stephanie Baxter, head of policy at the Institution of Engineering & Technology, explores how the UK can boost its climate resiliency through digital skills
How can the UK develop into a technological superpower, a leading player on the world’s economic stage? This is an easy question to ask, but very difficult to implement – and on current evidence, it’s going to be an uphill challenge. Competitive advantage, market share and productivity are underpinned by a skilled workforce. And here lies the problem. The IET’s latest Green Skills Survey found that the UK is held back by a lack of essential sustainability and digital skills.
Two-thirds of UK engineering employers have a sustainability strategy, but three-quarters of those employers need additional digital skills to implement their strategy. In particular, more needs to be done to encourage specialist sustainability skills and knowledge, whole systems and agile thinking.
And this is not only felt at a national level. Engineering employers worldwide are concerned about the impact of climate change on supply chains, goods and services. Fewer than 4% of engineering companies across eight countries think their organisations have all the skills to be resilient to its effects.
What can employers do about it?
On-the-job training is common, with in-house development programmes and formal qualifications also taking place. But worryingly, the UK particularly lacks training in new technologies and manufacturing sectors, backed up by technical and problem-solving skills, and innovative thinking. These aspects are crucial for the growth of UK PLC.
For example, UK engineering employers are least likely to recognise digital twins as a priority technology for reaching net zero; only 3% from the construction sector identify it as important. Furthermore, 77% of respondents don’t think that the UK has skills in this area.
This highlights that engineering employers are missing an opportunity on digitalisation around net zero and need support. To remedy this, government should facilitate upskilling in the sustainable use of technologies such as AI and digital twins.
What about industry-education collaboration to expand the pipeline of skilled employees?
Unfortunately, the current system is fragmented. Most UK employers (63%) think that the education system doesn’t prepare graduates for industry. This is substantially behind other nations.
To combat this, we need an integrated, post-school system with more robust partnerships between industry and universities to ensure critical skills gaps are filled, long-term. More industry placements and targeted projects are needed, especially in such areas as nuclear, future telecommunications and semiconductors.
Apprenticeships are a vital part of the skills agenda. But unfortunately, there’s still a significant lack of awareness over how apprenticeship schemes work, particularly among SMEs. We echo industry’s call for greater flexibility in the use of apprenticeship funding for upskilling and reskilling existing workers to meet their needs, for example through funding bespoke short courses (microcredentials).
What can the UK government do to boost digital skills?
The government is keen to develop world-leading companies with high productivity at the cutting-edge of technological and sustainability developments – and rightly so. With 80% of the 2030 workforce already in work, the recent publication of draft guidance for businesses to boost skills and harness AI was a welcome step forward for unlocking the potential benefits of new technologies throughout the workforce.
But to really capitalise on this requires a long-term, political vision, backed by a commitment to deliver it – we need to see visions followed-through to get industry and the public on board. The government needs to develop a joined-up industrial strategy that is clear over where the key gaps are, underpinned by targeted innovation funding that drives upskilling and reskilling.
This political commitment will give an impetus to industry to invest in supply chains, infrastructure and jobs, and catalyse greater academic-industry collaboration. It will provide that essential pipeline of technological skills to grow key sectors of the economy that meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s ambitions. It will turn a vision of economic prosperity into reality.
The IET Green Skills Survey research was carried out online by YouGov from 21 August – 10 September 2023 amongst 2,142 adults working in engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the USA.
Stephanie Baxter
Head of policy
Institution of Engineering & Technology
Tel: +44 (0)1438 313 311
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