Rapid Growth in Green Jobs Drives Surge in Demand for Engineers
As the United Kingdom intensifies its efforts to become a net-zero economy, a new report commissioned by EngineeringUK reveals that the demand for engineers is projected to outpace that of other occupations. The study also highlights a remarkable 55% increase in vacancies for "green engineering" roles in the UK over the past five years.
Conducted by Lightcast on behalf of EngineeringUK, the report discloses that the engineering sector, including technology roles, accounted for approximately 6.1 million jobs across various industries in 2021, comprising roughly 19% of all employment in the UK. Simultaneously, recruitment activity for engineering positions constituted a quarter (25%) of all job postings in the country in the past year, suggesting either a severe skills shortage in engineering or employers' proactive hiring to accommodate future growth or a combination of both factors.
Given the central role of engineers in developing solutions to combat climate change, the report highlights a significant rise of 48% in engineering job advertisements mentioning "green skills." The number of such job postings surged to 212,000 between 2021 and 2022. These "green" roles span multiple engineering sectors, including civil, electrical, information and communication technology (ICT), and software, illustrating the broad and vital application of these skills to the overall economy.
Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, emphasized the necessity of a robust plan and funding to cultivate a skilled workforce that attracts young individuals from diverse backgrounds into engineering and technology. Leevers stressed the urgency of reskilling the existing workforce to meet the escalating demand for engineers and technicians in driving the transition to a green economy and addressing climate change.
The burgeoning demand for engineers is reflected in the offered salaries as well. The average advertised salary in the engineering field (£38,600) surpasses the average salary for all occupations (£30,000) by almost 30%.
The Lightcast report additionally provides insights into 13 engineering thematic groups, offering a snapshot of sought-after specialist and software skills desired by recruiters. It highlights the top occupations within each group that employers have been actively recruiting for over the past year. The covered sectors include civil, electrical, mechanical, ICT and software, design and development, industrial, environment, energy and earth, skilled construction trades, skilled metal trades, water, air and waste, quality assurance and regulatory, other engineering, and other operatives.
