Survey reveals stark skills pressures amid rising engineering demand

Building engineers are being urged to tackle diversity gaps and future skills shortages after a new report revealed diversity and youth opportunities are still being underrepresented in the sector.

EngineeringUK’s latest workforce briefing paints a statistically rich picture of the current engineering and technology sector – a crucial context for building engineers navigating  the evolving professional landscape.

The UK now has approximately 6.4 million people employed in engineering and technology occupations, representing about 19.3% of the national workforce – a slight increase from 6.3 million (19.2%) in 2023. Other key insights reveal:

• 4.2 million in core engineering and technology roles (12.5% of workforce);
• 2.2 million in related roles such as architects, bricklayers, or IT technicians (6.8%); and
• accounting for industry overlap, engineering and technology roles, whether within their own sector or elsewhere, make up around 29.5% of UK employment.

Still far from balanced

Women remain significantly underrepresented – just 16.9% of those in engineering and technology roles are female, compared to 56% in all other occupations. Ethnic minorities comprise 14% of the engineering and technology workforce, versus 18% in other areas, while disabled people similarly remain underrepresented at 14%, compared to 19% across all other occupations.

The persistent underrepresentation of women, disabled individuals, and ethnic minorities highlights an urgent need to rethink recruitment, mentorship, and inclusion strategies within chartered roles, said EngineeringUK. Broadening participation isn’t just equitable – it strengthens collective expertise and innovative potential.

With only an estimated 9% of the engineering and technology workforce under age 25 – as opposed to 11.7% in other sectors – the profession risks talent gaps in coming years unless pathways are better supported, it added.

Recent efforts such as partnerships between the Women’s Engineering Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, and WISE underscore the need to proactively attract diverse future talent via outreach and education initiatives.

"Through this gender pathways work, together we will drive a collective mission to increase the number of girls in education pathways to engineering and technology at 18," EngineeringUK said in a statement. "Together we will focus on key areas influencing girls and young women’s engineering and technology career choices."