The production line that once produced a bountiful supply of engineers is starting to creak. ‘Britain is short of engineers’ was a recent headline that hit the proverbial nail on its head. Industry experts reckon the statement rings true in almost every sphere of engineering.

But why? The key barrier preventing young people from considering engineering careers is the misconception that STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are uninteresting and cannot lead to lucrative or interesting jobs.

A recent article in The Engineer, takes this a step further, suggesting that a more valid argument is that engineering is not being taught in our colleges and universities by experienced engineers. Semta, the engineering skills body, believes it’s imperative that engineers with up-to-date experience of the industry, work in education.

Ann Watson, chief operating officer at Semta, “There is real concern within the engineering profession that an increasing number of higher-education staff teaching engineering have no industry knowledge or experience,” she said.

Part of the problem is that teaching posts are being filled by new graduates as a means of funding further study. The consequence is that an increasing number of higher-education staff teaching engineering have no industry knowledge or experience. Industry leaders will tell you the longer we allow this to be the case, the more we lose out on the accumulated know-how that fosters new advances in technology which, in turn, fuels our industrial base and thus our export trade.

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Established in 1986, the company, based in Pontypool, South Wales, has expanded and developed its well-equipped 38000 sq. ft. facility and currently manufacture for an expanse of industries.

CEO and managing director Simon Jones said; “With our multi discipline True One Stop Shop attitude, we are able to provide a complex and diverse range of products and services to our customers that allows them to satisfy their requirements from a single source. “Our ability, level of commitment and service, coupled with our continuous improvement and DFM philosophy is greatly valued by all our customers.”