Introduction
Submitted to: Transport Select Committee
EngineeringUK’s submission highlights the urgent need for strategic workforce planning across engineering and technology, especially for transport manufacturing. We urge the government to align education pathways with industrial strategy and economic growth, to make sure skills needs are met at every stage.
Our submission also calls for decisive action on STEM teacher recruitment, support for T Levels and BTECs, as well as investment in careers advice and work experience. Addressing gender imbalances and declining apprenticeship starts, particularly among SMEs and young people, should also be prioritised.
EngineeringUK welcomes the government’s £100 million investment in engineering skills, but seeks clarity on its allocation and impact. We stress the importance of having a diverse, well-prepared workforce to meet future challenges – including net zero and technological change.
Who this is for
- MPs
- Policymakers
- Employers
- Professional Engineering Institutions
Key findings and recommendations
EngineeringUK recommends that the Transport Select Committee press the government to:
- Embrace strategic workforce planning across engineering and technology
- Align education pathways to the industrial strategy and economic growth
- Publish a new careers strategy, reaffirm the £85 million for work experience, and train a thousand new careers leaders
- Take decisive action on STEM teacher recruitment, training, and retention, ensuring subject-specific development for quality learning
- Maintain funding for Level 3 technical pathways as alternatives to T Levels, and support employer engagement in T Level placements
- Address gender imbalances in education and the workforce, with targeted government action and collaboration with the Gender pathways into engineering and technology partnership
- Reform apprenticeships to support SMEs, fund training for 16 to 18-year-olds, and clarify the role of foundation apprenticeships
- Provide transparency on the £100 million engineering skills investment to ensure it adds value and meets sector needs
We ask the government to take a strategic approach to engineering and technology workforce planning, and to look across the skills and people elements of the Industrial Strategy sector plans to ensure that common skills needs are identified and addressed.
— Rose Martin, Policy Manager, EngineeringUK
