Landmark campaign to inspire next generation of engineers

The government has named 2018 the Year of Engineering as part of an initiative that will offer young engineers across the UK vast opportunity - a major push to tackle a skills gap.

2018 will be an exciting year for future engineers. As the government announced, the Year of Engineering will see government and industry offer young people across the UK “a million direct and inspiring experiences of engineering.”

The government has declared that it will work with hundreds of industry partners across several sectors to make 2018 the Year of Engineering – and has pledged to work with young people to vastly increase their opportunity to expand their experiences and skills throughout the year.

It will also include outreach programmes, including a £1m investment from Shell in the Tomorrow’s Engineers Energy Quest (an interactive programme for thousands of schoolchildren), as well as a new children’s book on engineering to be published by Usbourne.

Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling said:

“This Year of Engineering is our commitment to transforming perceptions of engineering among young people, their parents and their teachers. We need people from all backgrounds to see the creativity, opportunity and value of engineering careers.”

This Year of Engineering is our commitment to transforming perceptions of engineering among young people...

About the campaign

The Gov.UK announcement explains the UK faces a predicted shortfall of 20,000 engineering graduates per year - and half the companies say the shortage is having an impact on productivity and growth.

By bringing young people and aspiring engineering from all backgrounds to the forefront of the profession, the campaign will broaden the pool of young people introduced to the creativity and innovation of engineering careers. 

Partners that have already pledged their support include:

• Siemens

• The Science Museum Group

• Ocado

• Usborne

• BAE Systems

• Crossrail

Further information

The Year of Engineering will be launched in January 2018. For further information, visit the Gov.UK website.

You can also watch this short video, and follow the campaign on Twitter to #inspireanengineer.