Engineering is one of the most productive sectors in the UK economy, contributing at least 20% of the UK’s gross value added and half of our exports. Yet there is a marked shortfall in qualified engineering professionals, and a lack of diversity in the profession – the engineering workforce is 94% white and 91% male.
The Year of Engineering aims to build on a multitude of national and regional initiatives that already promote engineering and associated skills, including the Academy’s own activities such as its Ingenious public engagement programme, education programmes and STEM learning resources.
The Academy is a partner in the Year of Engineering, in which it will launch an exciting new digital marketing campaign, This is Engineering, which seeks to rebrand engineering for young people aged 13-18. This ambitious project has been developed with support from industry to be a more visible, powerful and unifying campaign than previous initiatives for a teen audience, and provide content that all engineering organisations can use to attract the next generation of talent.
This is Engineering and the Year of Engineering will work together in 2018 to catalyse greater public awareness of engineering, using aligned messages about engineering’s appeal and impact.
This is Engineering will then continue beyond 2018, building on the Year of Engineering with a sustained effort to encourage more young people to pursue engineering.
