The Engineering Skills for the Future report, from skills experts Semta, was launched in parliament this week. It has found that female engineers are more attracted by an ‘interesting’ career than to the salary they will receive.
The report also shows that female engineers are more likely than their male colleagues to encourage people to enter the sector because it offers the prospect of interesting work. They are also less likely to focus on career prospects and earning potential while on an apprenticeship or sponsored degree.
Following on from the exceptional female performance at the Skills Show late last year, where six of the seven female entrants into engineering finals won a medal, the report is the latest effort to boost female participation in an industry that has been traditionally male-dominated.
“Despite a huge effort by employers to address the gender issue, just 3% of engineering apprenticeships are started by women,” said Ann Watson, CEO of Semta (pictured). “We need to ask whether we’re using the right messages to encourage women to enter the sector.
“This is all the more important in the context of Brexit – if we’re going to find it more difficult to bring people in from overseas then we need to do much better at making the very most of the potential engineering workforce at home.”
Semta chairman Allan Cook CBE echoed these sentiments: “We simply have to do more on diversity and inclusion in our sector, because if we don’t we’re ignoring the potential contribution of half of our population,” he said. “It’s so important that we can show everyone, but especially women, that a career in engineering can offer you so much more than just a monthly pay cheque and a pension – it gives you the chance to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and to really make your mark on society.”
