'Improverships' can help tackle skills shortage in engineering sector: Dean Murphy
The engineering sector is at a pivotal crossroads. With 35 per cent of its workforce now aged over 50 and up to 20 per cent expected to retire within the next decade, the pressure is mounting to find and train the next generation of skilled professionals.
This looming skills gap isn’t just a future concern, it’s a present-day challenge that demands urgent, strategic action.
Having launched the Goole-based mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering firm Salko UK in 2000, I have spent the past 25 years building a business rooted in expertise and local talent.
From its humble beginnings, the company has grown significantly and expanded its services from supplying individual specialists to delivering fully integrated mechanical and electrical teams, for large-scale projects.
Salko is committed to ensuring that Yorkshire plays a leading role in addressing one of engineering’s most pressing challenges, the skills shortage.
For Salko, that means focusing not only on recruitment but also on long-term development. Apprenticeships continue to play an important role in shaping the future workforce, but they’re just one part of the wider solution. Attrition rates among apprentices and a lack of alignment between training and industry needs highlight the importance of additional, ongoing support.
The Institute of Mechanical Engineers reports that the UK needs 124,000 new engineers and technicians each year to meet demand, but current projections show an annual shortfall of 37,000-59,000.
Looking more widely at the growing pressure on the industry, apprenticeships alone will not be enough to stem the tide of jobs that require fervent recruitment.
The time is now to mobilise teams cross-sector to ensure proper training schemes and skills workshops are made available to both current and future employees.
Industry leaders must commit to dedicating team time to training and development. While apprenticeships offer the chance to learn skills at the start of an individual’s career, leaders within the industry can also look to introduce and implement ‘improverships’.
These improverships would include conducting assessments to identify current skills and areas for improvement among employees.
This would identify where more efforts were needed to address gaps or uncertainties in knowledge as a group.
We are increasingly focused on what happens after the apprenticeship by introducing structured, career-long development opportunities for those already within the workforce.
Through internal training schemes and performance-based skills assessments, Salko UK aims to identify areas for growth, address technical knowledge gaps and support employees to continually evolve alongside a fast-changing sector.
Salko’s commitment to Yorkshire goes beyond its own operations. The region is ideally placed to become a national hub for engineering excellence, thanks to its combination of industrial heritage, technical colleges and emerging low-carbon infrastructure projects.
However, to create a sustainable and long lasting industry, businesses must invest now – not just in new hires, but in those already within their teams.
Dean Murphy is chairman and founder of Salko