Changing minds and breaking records

The improvement in public attitude towards engineering demonstrates a wave of cultural change. The Public Attitudes report in March, funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, found that people hold scientists and engineers in high regard. Nine in ten think that scientists and engineers make a valuable contribution to society and both are viewed as creative, interesting and open-minded people. This is borne out by EngineeringUK’s annual Engineers and Engineering Brand Monitor, which found that for all age-groups ‘interesting’ has triumphed over previous descriptions for engineering, such as ‘dirty’ or ‘messy’ and even the more ambiguous term ‘challenging’.

This increasing interest is backed up by early evaluations of The Big Bang Fair 2014. It was a record-breaking year for attendees. Over 75,000 visitors, including more than 70,000 young people, teachers and parents, attended this year’s Fair at the NEC in Birmingham. Over half the key age-group of 11-14 year-olds told us they learnt a lot about engineering, two thirds of young attendees took the opportunity to speak to someone about careers, and more than seven out of ten knew where to go next for more information. The number of young people saying a career in engineering is desirable increased by more than 50% compared to the national average.

Understanding and support for the importance of engineering to the UK economy is becoming more established and visible among public influencers, government and media. Business Minister Vince Cable MP, Education Minister Elizabeth Truss MP, Shadow Minister for Higher Education Liam Byrne MP and Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood and the Shadow Education Minister Steve were among a number of parliamentarians who attended the Fair. It attracted more media attention than ever before, with coverage including BBC Breakfast, ITV Daybreak, Newsround, BBC World Service, the Today programme, ITV Central, BBC West Midlands, Channel Four’s Sunday Brunch, the Alan Titchmarsh Show, the Times, Telegraph, Independent and Daily Mail to name a few. I found myself sprinting across the showfloor between BBC and ITV broadcasts at 6am on the first day of the Fair, because both wanted to hear about engineering careers in the same ten minutes before the 7am news.

”For all age-groups ‘interesting’ has triumphed over previous descriptions for engineering, such as ‘dirty’ or ‘messy’

Inspiring future engineers is more of a marathon in relay than a sprint, however. It needs many participants and continued collaboration. With that in mind, it was very fitting that SET for Britain carried on the momentum of STEM inspiration on Monday following the Fair. This initiative is another great example of collaboration between professional bodies and, through its support and recognition, shows that parliament is getting it.

A recent Engineering All Parliamentary Group meeting about preventing data leaks that I attended earlier in March certainly helped to bring home the consequences of getting it wrong - but also helped to define what success could look like, if we do get it right.  Through analysis of Big Data, we could solve science and engineering challenges, increase business productivity and make organisations less vulnerable and more efficient. This area is an example of the opportunities that are on the horizon for UK engineering, and the new career opportunities that are opening up for young people with the right skills and qualifications.

There has never before been a time when engineering skills, industrial strategy and infrastructure have been so firmly on the agenda for all mainstream political parties. By working together to sustain positive change in public perceptions and win the hearts and minds of media and Ministers, we can ensure that young people see their future in engineering – and that the UK will have a future as an engineering world-leader. We need to act now.