‘The Status Quo is Unsustainable’ – REC Calls for More Women in Engineering
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Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has called on employers, educators and government to encourage more women to pursue careers in engineering, or else risk a debilitating skills shortage crisis.
More than half (54 per cent) of engineering recruiters believe that skills shortages have becomes more apparent in the last 12 months, and a further 28 per cent say shortages are just as bad as they were a year ago, according to data released today by the REC.
This is due in part to a scarcity of women applying for jobs in the sector. According to reed.co.uk, 120,991 women applied for UK engineering vacancies in 2015 compared to 1,043,507 men.
The REC asked engineering recruiters about potential solutions to this imbalance:
- almost eight in ten (78 per cent) said that better careers advice in schools is the key to attracting more women to the sector
- more than six in ten (62 per cent) said that government should to more to encourage girls to take maths and science at A-Level
- 58 per cent said that employers should offer more flexible working options to encourage more women to apply for vacancies.
Almost half (48 per cent) of engineering recruiters believe that women have the same opportunities as men within engineering, but that not enough effort is made to attract women to the sector. However, three in ten (31 per cent) said that employers’ attitudes are holding women back.
REC Head of policy Kate Shoesmith says:
“UK engineering will need to fill upwards of 2.56 million vacancies before 2022 – failure to meet this target would pose major risks to projects such as HS2 or the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. Businesses are already experiencing a shortage of candidates with engineering skills.
“Employers, educators and government all have a responsibility to tackle the root causes of the gender imbalance in this sector because the status quo is unsustainable.”
Lynn Cahillane, Communications Manager at reed.co.uk, comments:
"Engineering is seeing huge levels of growth and we’re seeing a constant flow of jobs advertised on reed.co.uk, from marine engineering to micro-electronics. However, whilst applications to the sector are up by more than a third annually, the gender imbalance continues to worsen. In 2015, men outnumbered women 10:1 in engineering roles compared to 9:1 in 2014.
“To encourage more women to consider a career in engineering, schools and universities have an important role to play. The extensive number of jobs on offer as well as the lucrative pay packages on offer, should be portrayed to the next generation of workers from an early age. This, paired with flexible working hours and on-site childcare facilities, should help improve the appeal of the industry to women."
The REC’s March Report on Jobs shows that engineering was the second most in-demand category for permanent staff during February.
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Notes to editors:
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International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. www.internationalwomensday.com
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According to reed.co.uk, 120,991 women applied for engineering vacancies in 2015 compared to 1,043,507 men. In 2014, 97,681 women applied for engineering vacancies compared to 753,263 men. See http://news.reed.co.uk/women-in-engineering-salary-expectations-improve-despite-being-outnumbered-by-male-counterparts/
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According to EngineeringUK engineering companies will need to recruit 2.56 million people between 2012-2022, and 257,000 of these will be needed to fill new vacancies. http://www.engineeringuk.com/EngineeringUK2015/EngUK_Report_2015_Interactive.pdf
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During a live webinar in February 2016, and via an online survey, the REC asked member agencies that supply engineering professionals:
Do you think skills shortages in engineering are: (choose one) Total respondents 50
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More apparent now compared to 12 months ago 54%
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Less apparent now compared to 12 months ago 8%
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The same compared to 12 months ago 28%
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Don’t know 10%
What solutions are needed to encourage more women to consider careers in the sector? (Multiple choice – select all that are relevant) Total respondents 45
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Better careers advice in schools 78%
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Mandatory gender pay gap reporting by employers 38%
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Clients should offer more flexible working options 58%
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Government should do more to encourage girls to do maths and science at A-Level 62%
Based on your experience of the engineering sector today, do you think women have the same opportunities as men to be successful? (choose one) Total respondents 52
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No – women don’t have the skills to be successful 2%
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No – client attitudes are holding women back 31%
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Yes – there are opportunities but not enough effort is made to attract women to the sector 48%
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Yes – there is no difference in the opportunities on offer to men and women in engineering 13%
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Don’t know 6%
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