Articles
In 2018, to mark the fifth anniversary of its publication, the Royal Academy of Engineering invited Perkins to oversee a retrospective evaluation of progress to date.
So how have we done? Well, the good news is that engineering has a newly acquired self-confidence in its messaging that takes us beyond simply describing skills as a leaking pipeline – rather presenting the sector as “a precious national asset” and the “ultimate people-focused profession”. There is also now a government strategy to boost engineering skills and industry.
But there are some real challenges too, especially in our schools, where shortages of teachers in key subjects, and accountability measures that don’t easily favour subjects such as design and technology, are contributing to stagnation at the early stage of the skills journey.
The most significant changes in the skills policy domain identified in the report relate to technical education, with special pleading for the engineering community to give the apprenticeship levy and T-levels time to work.
There are also some strong messages to government. First, that it must boost funding to the further education sector, described as being in a “parlous state”. Second, that the attitudinal shift required to overturn cultural bias against vocational training will rely on the strength of the government’s commitment to technical pathways. This means ensuring parity of status and funding with academic routes, alongside a recognition that such a major cultural challenge will require flexibility and tolerance from all stakeholders.
We all now have responsibility for helping to achieve the report’s recommendations.
At the report’s launch event in the House of Lords, speakers referred to the need for skills to accommodate the changing nature of engineering and technology, while advocating placing “rocket boosters” under our efforts to make engineering more inclusive and to reflect the community that our sector serves.
The first of the report’s 15 recommendations is key if we don’t want 2023 to feel like 2013. Although the engineering community is tasked with a number of actions, if the UK is to address the persistent skills and diversity issues, it is the government that must provide visible leadership.
That must include appointing a ministerial lead for engineering, assigning an MP in a supporting role as engineering champion, and establishing a UK-wide ministerial advisory group of expert and influential stakeholders.
Read Engineering Skills for the Future: The 2013 Perkins Review Revisited, here.