2016 turned out to be a difficult and uncertain year for the engineering industry, which was triggered by the result of the EU Referendum amongst other things. Now the results are in from Machtech’s first ever ‘Engineering: Voice of the Workforce’ study, and it seems that many engineers in the UK are much more positive than you may have expected!
Machtech is the UK’s number one engineering recruitment company, and this study gathered the thoughts and opinions of over 2,500 engineers who were asked about their confidence in the industry. Despite the fact that there has been a drop in confidence, the surprising factor that came out of the study is that confidence levels still remain fairly high.
Less than half of the UK engineering community that participated in the study believed that Brexit was a concern for the industry, and only 39% were concerned about the implications of Brexit in regards to job opportunities. The sectors in which confidence appeared to be the highest were Rail, Utilities and Renewables, coming out at 72%, 68% and 65% respectively.
Our first Voice of the Workforce survey has shown how last yearâs unprecedented political change has led to a drop in confidence amongst engineers, commented Keith Lewis, the Managing Director of Machtech. In light of the political events of last year and the ongoing uncertainty it is unsurprising that confidence has fallen; however, we are buoyed by the recent upswing in manufacturing, which we believe will change this negative perception and bring confidence back to the sector.
Some of the reasons that many are sceptical about the future of the industry are the reduction in budgets and a lack of strategy or investment from the government, which could all stunt the growth of the engineering industry.
Everything still remains uncertain of course, and it appears we shall have to wait to see how things unfold in the industry over the coming years!
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