January/February 2018

PE Report
A Global Demand: Closing the Engineering Skills Gap and Diversifying the Profession

People around the world understand that engineers are necessary to meeting society’s big challenges. Yet more needs to be done to close the skills gap perception and diversify the profession, according to a new study.

Across the globe, engineering is largely viewed as a stable and rewarding career. Eighty-four percent of survey respondents trust engineering businesses to provide good earning power; 81% trust engineering businesses to provide good job stability; 80% say that engineering is a very respectable career; and 76% say that engineering is a prestigious career.

The survey revealed great concerns about the profession’s lack of diversity. Seventy-five percent of participants feel there should be more visible female role models among industry leaders. Three out of five participants would be inspired to pursue engineering if there were more professional role models who looked like them. The majority also believe that governments, businesses, and schools should offer more support to individuals interested in pursuing engineering careers.

The study, commissioned by the Ambassadors Network of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, received responses from 10,000 members of the general public in the US, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, India, South Korea, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Study participants largely believe engineering is a key driver in their nation’s economies. Nearly 90% of participants believe that engineering is a valuable industry for the economy, while 88% say that engineering helps the economy grow. Seventy-three percent say that engineering provides new job opportunities. When asked if the demand for skilled engineers is higher than the supply of jobs in their country, many answered yes. The nations where the highest percentage of respondents saw a skills gap were South Africa (67%), China (63%), Japan (63%), Germany (63%), and the US (59%).

The survey also revealed the need for more education about the extent of engineering’s contributions to the everyday lives of people. Ninety-two percent of participants say that engineering has an impact on people’s daily lives, but only 79% of participants say that engineering has an impact on them personally in their daily life.

To address the perception problem, the network has developed an action plan to assist businesses, educators, institutions, and individual engineers with creating new STEM outreach and engagement activities.

Access the Create the Future Report 2017 at www.qeprize.org.