Blog: Collaboration is the key to solving recruitment challenges

As we settle into the new year, many businesses are ramping up their recruitment efforts and many of you will likely be feeling the recruitment pinch. Limited applications and unfilled roles might be all too familiar. So, what can we do about this? Well, what if rather than seeing other companies as competitors when it comes to recruitment - we were to work together earlier in the system to grow the talent pool, so that there are enough candidates for all of us to thrive?

There is already a lot of great work being done to inspire the next generation into engineering and technology careers, however the workforce and skills shortage isn’t something that can be solved by any one organisation on its own – or even a single sector. That’s exactly why the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code was born. This collaborative community of organisations is dedicated to increasing the number and diversity of young people entering engineering and technology careers. Aiming to improve the collective impact of their engineering outreach for young people, members share best practice and commit to 4 pledges - to connect with other activities, drive inclusion, showcase a breadth of contemporary careers and share their learnings. United by this common approach, Code members include organisations of all sizes from across a range of engineering industries, as well from funders, government departments, institutions and education and outreach organisations. In fact last month, the community celebrated an exciting new milestone - it’s now 300 members strong.

We’re keen to continue to grow this community, so we can strengthen this joined-up approach and drive change at scale. Any UK-based organisation that funds, designs or delivers engineering outreach activities, or intends to, is invited to become a Signatory – which is free to do. If your organisation doesn’t meet this criteria, but supports our aims, you are very welcome to join as a Supporter. Code members are also invited to join Code Connect, which is virtual matching system to facilitate collaboration across the Code Community. It gives members easy access to information about other members, such as their area of activity and expertise, and lets you connect and learn from the community in a few simple steps.

Our Tomorrow’s Engineers Live event is another fantastic way of facilitating collaboration – and our 2024 event takes place this February. This year the annual event brings the engineering and technology community together to discuss inspiring the next generation, reaching underrepresented groups and promoting technical pathways.

There are plenty of other ways you can get involved with growing the future workforce and easing the recruitment challenges. For example, also taking place this February is National Apprenticeships Week, which is another opportunity for the sector to come together to promote technical routes into engineering careers. The more organisations that get involved, the more we can showcase the breath of exciting opportunities our sector has to offer. By showcasing the benefits of apprenticeships – you’ll be playing a role in supporting young people from all backgrounds to pursue an engineering career – adding to the future prospective talent pool. And who knows, you might even find your next recruit! If your business doesn’t yet offer apprenticeships or T level placements, this could be a great time to find out more about them and see how they are helping other employers find the talent they need.

Collaboration such as this sits at the heart of our 5-year strategy. Our mission is to enable more young people from all backgrounds to be inspired, informed and progress into engineering and technology. But we know this is only possible by working in partnership with others. We work with hundreds of organisations across the sector and really value the close collaboration we have with all the Professional Engineering Institutions, our Corporate Members and other partners.

So next time you’re struggling to recruit, or reviewing your recruitment strategy I urge you to think about the bigger picture. How can you join the growing number of businesses that are taking a proactive, collaborative and future-proof approach to securing the future workforce?