Engineering skills transfer key to industrial recovery claims report

 A concerted effort to drive the transfer of engineering skills from one sector to another will be key to enabling UK industry to recover from Covid-19  according to a report published by construction industry skills body, the ECITB (The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board).  

The report – Skills Transferability in the Engineering Construction Industry – sheds light on the similarities in skills and competences of engineers in the many sectors that support Britain’s energy and processing infrastructure, from renewables to oil and gas, nuclear and pharmaceuticals. It also identifies barriers to skills transferability, such as ingrained workplace attitudes and recruitment practices that computer engineering jobs trades and occupations unnecessarily and place unhelpful restriction on the mobility of workers.

With the most severe economic impact from Covid-19 felt in the oil and gas industry – a sector already under pressure – the ECITB asserts that with proper planning and coordination, the pandemic presents an opportunity to accelerate transition to a carbon-free economy. It warns however that failure to act quickly, risk the loss of thousands of engineers who have the requisite skills to deliver decarbonisation.