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Incorporated engineers represent the future

An IIE, The Institution of Incorporated Engineers product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Sep 10, 2002

British industry is facing a shortfall of the right type of professional engineers because large numbers of technical graduates lack the skills and experience demanded by engineering employers.

British industry is facing a shortfall of the right type of professional engineers because large numbers of technical graduates lack the skills and experience demanded by engineering employers.

As a result, students are increasingly opting to undertake IEng accredited degree courses that place a dual emphasis on the technical and practical abilities required to fulfil the growing demands of industry.

Gordon Brown's speech on Wednesday 27th June, appeared to reflect this move when he highlighted the need to remove the barriers to British science, technology and engineering leading the world again.

"Too few of our young people with engineering talent have had the chance to make the most of their potential through study, research, training".

These comments follow closely the May 2002 Roberts Review, which found that large numbers of engineering graduates faced huge difficulties applying their technical knowledge in a practical environment.

Through its unique approach to developing the next generation of hands-on engineers, the IEng degree programme, with courses often called BScEng or BEng, offers a solution.

By ensuring that employers have immediate access to engineers with the technical and practical skills they so demand, the new IEng degrees may end the severe shortages highlighted by the DfES Skills Dialogue Report of 2001.

The growing appreciation among the key players within UK industry of the benefits of employing Incorporated Engineers (IEngs), will lead to a surge in demand for their capabilities over the next few years.

"Technical demands and high retraining costs will force employers such as ABB to move away from the traditional recruitment of Chartered Engineers to the recruitment of more practical Incorporated Engineers", predicts Bill Haddall, Engineering Manager for ABB Automation.

There are currently around 100 different IEng accredited degrees running in the UK.

Combining traditional academic theory with the more practical elements of engineering, this range of courses aims to ease the pressure faced by employers when seeking to recruit competent and effective graduates.

Oliver Selby, a final year student on an accredited BEng Hons in Aerospace Technology, is among the first to benefit from the new IEng courses.

Aged only 21, and with a year to go until graduation, Selby has secured a part-time position with Fanuc Robotics, a leading British manufacturer of robot technology.

As a student engineer, he has spent the last two years combining his studies with work, programming and maintaining the mechanical systems of the company's robots.

Selby believes his success in the role is due largely to the general grounding provided by his IEng course.

"Although the course requires me to understand traditional engineering principles, it warmly embraces new technology and challenges you to consider and learn more about the future - an essential prerequisite in my position".

Mark Arbon, Engineering Manager at Fanuc and Selby's employer, agrees: "Oliver is the most outstanding young engineer that we have.

Whether working individually or as part of the team, his technical ability and general attitude ensures that the work he undertakes is always of the highest quality.

Oliver has made an immediate impact on our business and is a testament not only to himself but also to the course on which he studies".

The particular benefits of IEng courses are also widely appreciated by academics.

"The new IEng accredited programmes represent a breakthrough in the engineering community", explains Robin Acheson of Sheffield Hallam University.

"After close consultation with Industry, the courses that we deliver ensure that the Incorporated Engineers of the future can look forward to being in high demand for well paid and sustainable positions across each and every industry".