Why the female engineer skills gap matters (pt 2 of 2)
Scottish Renewables’ first blog on skills looked at the crisis facing engineering in general.Now we’re focussing on one element of that issue: the difficulty of attracting women into our industry – then making sure they stay.
At every point where young women choose which direction their lives should take – picking subjects to study at school, which course to take at university – the number choosing careers in science, technology, maths and engineering falls.
The UK has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe.
For those girls who do choose to study subjects such as physics or chemistry, the experience can be an isolating one, leaving them as potentially the only girl in the classroom – a situation which risks putting female students off continuing with that subject.
Around only 20% of A Level physics students are girls – a figure which has not changed in 25 years.
In 2014/15 in Scotland, only 61 of the 1,364 students taking engineering modern apprenticeships were female. That’s just 4%.
No women at all chose to study power distribution – a course based on Electrical Power Engineering and a choice which consequently directly impacts the renewables industry.
Our most recent figures showed 28% of Scotland’s renewable energy employees were women.
That’s compared to 21% in oil and gas and 18% in nuclear in the same year (2013).
But why should we worry?
As Equate Scotland – a group which aims to make “a positive difference for women in science engineering, technology and the built environment” – points out:
“Scotland needs 140,000 more engineers by 2020, whilst underusing half of the population – how will we reach that target?”
That’s supported by a 2015 study by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council which showed 64% of engineering employers say a shortage of engineers in the UK is a threat to their business.
National Grid’s first female head of operations North East, Faye Banks, was the IET’s youngest ever fellow and is a former Young Woman Engineer of the Year.
She says:
“In my experience, when teams include men and women they come up with great, innovative ideas and they work very well together.
“It's important to tap into the talents of people who have lots of different life and work experiences, so including women in the workforce helps an organisation become innovative and successful — and it's better for the industry in general.”
Put simply: diversity matters.
Thankfully, Sharon Clews, People and Talent Management Director at techUK, says:
“There is a lot of traction around the skills gap issue. Policy makers and industry organisations are taking action to change the perception of tech amongst girls and to build the skills needed to grow a successful career in the industry.”
There are many worthy projects already underway to encourage more women and girls into STEM careers, including from SSE, Engie and AECOM.
But it’s up to all of us in the industry to help out where we can.
Scottish Renewables is already working with Primary Engineer to help ensure all children get inspired by STEM.
The organisation, which equips teachers with the knowledge they need to teach simple, exciting science projects to pupils, desperately needs more engineers to get involved and share their knowledge.
We’ve also supported the Junior Saltire Prize, through which schoolchildren compete to create marine energy devices.
2015’s winners even attended our Marine Conference in Inverness and presented their ideas to delegates – before receiving the loudest applause of the event.
And for the rest of us?
We should strive to create a culture which values STEM careers as enabling children to do more than just become ‘a scientist’.
That’s a tactic which will encourage more children and young people of all genders, backgrounds and abilities to get into STEM careers and help secure the future of industries like renewables.
Blog by Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager