Engineering Council UK UK SPEC Baseline Project March 2007

1. Engineering Council UK UK SPEC Baseline Project March 2007 Prepared for: Illuminas (Formerly DVL Smith) Lion House, 141-145 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR Tel: 020 7909 0929 Fax: 020 7909 0921 www.illuminas-global.com

2. Agenda • Background and methodology • Registration levels • Awareness of ECUK and UK Spec • Competencies required and current employee strength • Skills shortages and future needs • Conclusions

3. Background and methodology

4. Background • UK-SPEC represents a more simple and modern approach to registration than the previous ECUK registration requirements (SARTOR) • Focuses on a broader range on competencies and requirements • Greater emphasis has been placed on professional responsibilities and obligations, as well as on interpersonal skills • The intention is that these standards accurately reflect what employers need and expect of their engineering employees, and they become a gold standard across the industry • This study set out to examine the skills levels of engineers as perceived by their employers, as well as the relative importance of these skills • This is to deepen understanding of whether business and industry at large continued to regard competences ECUK identified as necessary as key to professional practice • The study has been designed to set a benchmark for the skills that are considered to be important, and the extent to which employers feel that their engineering staff possess them. • As UK SPEC becomes more widely known and greater numbers of engineers have completed the standard, ECUK will be able to measure both the changes in skills levels (and hence the effectiveness of the professional bodies in influencing education and training) over a period of years • Additionally the study covers: • Estimated registration at each of the 3 levels • Estimated awareness and recognition of UK SPEC and the Engineering Council itself

5. Methodology • 830 x 20 min detailed interviews were conducted by telephone • Employers of engineers and / or technicians (this was defined according to the respondents own understanding of the terms), in both HR manager and line manager roles, were interviewed • CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing) was used • Fieldwork ran from 9/10/06 to 5/12/06 (a pilot stage was conducted at the early part of this period) • Additionally 7925 shorter ‘filter’ interviews were conducted to inform future waves of the study and increase ECUK’s understanding of the industries where engineers are employed • Data was weighted after fieldwork to reflect the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in terms of sector, size, and number of engineers

6. Methodology • There is a detailed presentation available looking at differences: • Between sectors as identified using SIC codes: • Manufacturing, Construction, Real estate, Other • Other comprises primarily Public Administration, Hotels and Restaurants, Electricity, Gas and Water, and Education firms • By size and legal status of company • Between level at which engineers are employed: as identified by estimates from employers • The questions of level and number of engineers registered were based on the following questions: • Do you employ any engineers or technicians in the following roles? • And how many do you currently employ in each of these roles? (If unable to give exact answer ask for approximate) • Senior engineers able to design or develop advanced solutions to engineering problems, using new or existing technologies. From this point onwards we will refer to these roles as ‘higher degree level, qualified engineer with advanced design capability’ • Senior engineers able to implement technological solutions to engineering problems. From this point onwards we will refer to these roles as ‘bachelors degree level, qualified engineer capable of implementing new designs’ • Engineering technician who uses proven techniques to solve practical engineering problems. From this point onwards we will refer to these roles as ‘engineering technician educated to NVQ level 3 • How many of your employees in <INSERT WORDING> are actually registered as Chartered Engineers / Incorporated Engineers / Engineering Technicians? (By this we mean are employees would describe themselves as a Chartered Engineers / Incorporated Engineers / Engineering Technicians on their CV or would put CEng, IEng, Eng Tech after their name)? • To follow we provide a brief overview to give a flavour of findings focusing mainly on chartered engineers

7. Where engineers were found Q. Do you employ any engineers or technicians? % Base: all contacted (8755)

8. What level are the engineers employed within each sector? Overall % of companies within the sector who have staff at each level The pattern remains broadly similar across different sectors with companies having a higher proportion of engineering technician level than incorporated or chartered. Base: all (830)

9. Registration Levels

10. % of all engineering employees registered, by sector Overall % of staff within the sector who are registered at each level For all sectors, at least half of all higher level engineers are registered as Chartered Engineers, and employees at this level are most likely to be registered Base: all (830)

11. Registration levels Companies with employees at chartered engineer level are most likely to have everyone at this level registered Base: all (830)

12. Proportion of registered Chartered engineers, by sector % with staff at chartered engineer level 66% 62% 64% 67% 64% Real estate companies with employees at chartered level were most likely to have only registered Chartered Engineers, whilst manufacturing firms showed the least propensity to have staff of this standing Base: Proportion of all at C Eng level who are registered

13. Company size by qualification levels Overall % of staff within each company type who are registered The smallest companies are least likely to have anyone who is a registered engineer at any level Larger firms (over 250 employees) are the most likely to have at least 1% of their engineers registered Base: all (830)

14. Awareness of UK SPEC and ECUK

15. At least 2/3 aware that a standard setting body exists Q. A chartered body exists to set and maintain realistic and internationally recognised standards of professional competence and ethics for the engineering industry. Were you aware that a body existed to do this? Only 10% of respondents spontaneously knew the Engineering Council / ECUKfulfilled this role Most others believed that the licensed member that represents their industry (i.e. Chartered Institute of Mechanical Engineers) had this function Company size does not drive awareness Base: all (830)

16. Manufacturing and ‘other’ firms were less aware of UK-SPEC Q. Have you heard of UK-SPEC? Awareness of UK Spec is not size driven It follows that UK Spec is better known amongst Real Estate employers as they have higher engagement with registration Base: all (830)

17. Competencies required and current employee strength

18. Importance and current strength of skills • Each respondent was asked to evaluate, on a scale of 1-10, the importance of the component skill sets covered by UK Spec, and how strong their current employees at this level are • Analysis was done based on whether the respondent has registered staff or not • These scores have been compared to one another, and a ‘performance gap’ has been calculated by subtracting the importance rating from the strength rating • In most cases this leaves a shortfall – there are very few areas where skills are seen to be over-supplied • However, there is variance in the proximity to the ideal of the different skill areas, and this is highlighted in the following charts Strength – Importance = Performance Gap

19. The UK SPEC standard for Chartered Engineers – a reminder The skills requirements are sub-divided into 5 categories as identified by UK Spec NB: the full report includes full data for all levels

20. Chartered Engineers – the findings • The most important skills for employers of staff at Chartered Engineer level were: • Ensuring that the solution meets the relevant quality and safety standards • Ensuring that the solution meets the needs of the user fully • Working within all relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks, including social and employment legislation, health, safety and welfare • Communicating effectively in English both verbally and in writing (formal / informal) • Possessing and applying a high level of general engineering knowledge / understanding • Promoting quality throughout the organisation and to customer / supplier networks • Ensuring that the solution is cost effective • A skill set from each of the 5 areas into which the standard is divided are represented in the top 7 skills is seen as key - this indicates that the standard is accurately positioned in terms of reflecting the range of employer priorities • The skills rated as least important were: • Proactively identify and assess market opportunities for new or enhanced engineering solutions • Identify and exploit opportunities for developing and transferring technology • Being aware of intellectual property rights issues and taking the appropriate steps to secure IPR when required • Developing imaginative engineering solutions to enhance community welfare, involving the wider community in this where possible

21. Where are there skills gaps in need of redress? • Addressing performance gaps is more important in terms of the skills that employers value the most • This may give a steer on how to promote the benefits of registration as well as a steer to amending it and making it fit need better • Performance is weak in comparison with importance in terms of: • Ensuring solutions meet user needs fully (rated as the second most important skill overall) • Promoting quality both in and outside the organisation • Ensuring solutions are cost effective • Knowing and managing ones own strengths and weaknesses • Taking responsibility for own CPD

22. Where are there differences between companies with some registered engineers and those without any? • Employers of registered and non registered chartered engineers were broadly in agreement about the hierarchy of skills importance • Those who have some or all registered gave higher importance scores to some skills areas, suggesting that the presence of some registered staff raises an employer’s standards • These skills areas are discussing and presenting proposals, and taking feedback into account, complying with the rules of their own professional body, and developing imaginative solutions to enhance the welfare of the community • Several skills areas where those with registered Chartered Engineers reported lower performance gaps than those without • Given that in terms of these skills, those with registrants usually have a smaller performance gap than those without any registered chartered engineers, in real terms the former are outperforming the latter • These areas are: • Having / using a high level of general engineering knowledge • Complying with standards set by their professional body, • Evaluating and improving on health and safety systems, • Developing risk management strategies, • Helping team members with achieving their CPD goals • Being innovative in creating products which enhance the quality of the environment

23. Importance by sector findings – Chartered level • Manufacturing firms awarded higher importance scores in some of the skills at the most important end of the skills hierarchy; ensuring the solution meets user needs fully, possessing and applying a high level of engineering knowledge and understanding, promoting quality both in and outside the organisation, and understanding user requirements for improvements to current products, systems and processes • Manufacturing firms seemed to be experiencing the widest skills gaps, and this may be a result of the lower registration levels within the sector (they received significantly lower scores than another sector in 7 of the skills areas) • There were a few areas that were rated as quite important but where significant skills gaps existed in several or all sectors: • Promoting quality throughout the organisation and to external contacts • Knowing and managing own strengths and weaknesses • Project planning skills • Taking responsibility for maintenance and updating of skills

24. Skills shortages and future needs

25. Senior engineers – important skills lacking • The main skills that employers of senior engineers felt were lacking were: • Communication skills • Practical skills • People and management skills • Electrical skills (esp Construction and Real Estate) • Basic engineering skills • Computer / IT skills • Financial and financial management skills • A broad range of skills • In terms of areas of increased need as their businesses progress, IT skills (7%), environmental awareness and knowledge (6%), project management skills (3%), foreign languages (3%) technical skills (2%), and knowledge of health and safety (2%), came out most strongly • 13% of those employing senior level staff mentioned difficulty finding engineers with experience (especially those in ‘other’ industries) 4% 3% This may simply highlight the areas already within the standard that are of particular interest / relevance for employers, and could be drawn out more when articulating the benefits of having registered staff However, IT (and foreign languages) may be areas to consider for inclusion in the future (this was also felt to be an area of increasing importance for Engineering Technicians)

26. Conclusions

27. Conclusions • Around two-fifths of construction firms, a quarter of real estate, and a fifth of manufacturing companies employ engineers at some level • Construction firms do not have the greatest proportion of registered engineers despite their workforces being most likely to contain engineers • Registration is most common amongst staff at Chartered level, with the Real Estate sector leading the way in terms of registration levels • The Engineering Council’s role was known to around two-thirds, but only 10% of these could name the Engineering Council / ‘ECUK’ as fulfilling this role • UK Spec was less well known, and the highest awareness was amongst employers in the Real Estate sector (likely to be because they are the most likely to have staff with the qualification) • Awareness of both of these could be raised within core industries • The standard reflects the skills that employers value, and the 5 skills areas of the standard all cover at least one of the most vital skills • Those with registered staff tended to set higher standards than those without registered staff at the same level, suggesting that the presence of registrants ‘raises the bar’ in terms of valuing skills • In spite of this, performance gaps tended to be at a similar level of slimmer for those with registrants, illustrating the value of registration

28. Conclusions II • Skills that are somewhat undersupplied across both those with and without registered staff are: • Ensuring solutions meet user needs fully (rated as the second most important skill overall) • Promoting quality both in and outside the organisation • Ensuring solutions are cost effective • Knowing and managing ones own strengths and weaknesses • Taking responsibility for own CPD • The main area of interest in the future for Chartered Engineers is IT skills • Other skills areas may just need greater emphasis when talking about the standard: • Environmental awareness and knowledge • Communication skills • Practical skills • People and management skills • Electrical skills (esp Construction and Real Estate) • Basic engineering skills • Financial and financial management skills • A broad range of skills