UK engineering employers lack skills to address impact of climate change, finds IET survey

Eight out of 10 UK engineering employers lack the skills needed to be resilient to the impacts of climate change, according to the findings of an international survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Despite nearly two-thirds of UK businesses being worried about how climate change will impact their organisation, only a third of engineering employers have a sustainability strategy in place to achieve net zero. Three-quarters of those with a sustainability strategy in place also reported requiring additional skills to implement it, in particular lacking specialist sustainability skills, knowledge, whole systems thinking and agile mindsets.

Furthermore, despite UK employers reporting that they favour upskilling existing colleagues, engineering employers in this country were also the least likely to offer training in new technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality, and simulations.

Stephanie Baxter, Head of Policy at the IET, said:

“The skills deficit means we are not ready and resilient to tackle climate change, both in the UK and beyond. Net zero needs the trifecta of an industrial strategy, innovation funding, and support for upskilling the UK workforce to become more internationally competitive. Agility and whole systems thinking are key skills for reaching net zero and adapting to climate change, and more should be done to encourage this in the workforce. It is vital businesses prioritise training and upskilling for employees that focuses on resilience skills, particularly around innovative thinking and problem solving.

“Industry confidence in the UK’s education pipeline is remarkably low by international standards – so greater collaboration between industry and universities is required. This includes targeting placements in areas of critical skill deficit, such as nuclear technologies and digital twins.

“Employers are missing an opportunity on digitalisation and net zero. We need UK Government to help facilitate upskilling in the sustainable use of technologies, such as AI and digital twins where skills in these areas are expected to be more important than ever in the future.”

The research for the IET was carried out online by YouGov from 21 August – 10 September 2023 amongst 2,142 adults working in engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the USA.