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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

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Agenda

Background and methodology

Registration levels

Awareness of ECUK and UK Spec

Competencies required and current employee

strength

Skills shortages and future needs

Conclusions

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Background and methodology

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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

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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

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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 firmsBy size and legal status of companyBetween 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

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Where engineers were foundQ. Do you employ any engineers or technicians?

9

21

14

41

2

19

26

13

7

14

20

91

79

86

59

98

81

74

87

93

86

80

Agriculture, fishing, mining & quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, & water supply

Construction

Wholesale retail & motor trade / Transportstorage and communication

Financial intermediation

Real estate, renting & business activities

Public administration & defence

Education

Hotels, Restaurants, Health & social work andother community, social and personal service

activities

All sectors

Yes

No

%

Base: all contacted (8755)

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What level are the engineers employed within each sector?

Overall % of companies within the sector who have staff at each level

66%62%

64%67%

64%

56%51%

58%

63%

56%

77%

72%76%

82%

76%

Manufacturing Construction Real Estate Other All

CharteredEngineer'Level'

IncorporatedEngineer'Level'

EngineeringTechnician'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)

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Registration Levels

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54%57%

73%

66%

61%

34%

39%

46%50%

40%44%

41%39%

53%

44%

Manufacturing Construction Real Estate Other All

CharteredEngineers

IncorporatedEngineers

EngineeringTechnicians

% of all engineering employees registered, by sector

Base: all (830)

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

Overall % of staff within the sector who are registered at each level

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Registration levels

41 39

6056

39

29

21

18

19

32

1926

All with senior levelengineers (652)

All with chartered levelengineers (563)

All with incorporated levelengineers (503)

Technician level engineers(457)

Allregistered

Someregistered

Noneregistered

Base: all (830)

Companies with employees at chartered engineer level are most likely to have everyone at this level registered

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Proportion of registered Chartered engineers, by sector

39

23

17

26

22

22

4

7

6

10

6

26

33

41

34

32

34

46

43

27

Manufacturing (223)

Construction (109)

Real Estate (109)

Other (122)

All (563)

0% 1 - 50% 51 - 99% 100%

66%

62%

% with staff at chartered engineer

level

64%

67%

64%

Base: Proportion of all at C Eng level who are registered

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

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Company size by qualification levels

Base: all (830)

62

3646

3830 28 29

39

20

27

42

38

3935

4635

3

13

2

13

1115

119

1624

10 1120 22

14 17

1 to 10 11 to 24 25-49 50-99 100-249 250-500 500+ Total

100%

51-99%

1 to 50%

0%

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 levelLarger firms (over 250 employees) are the most likely to have at least 1% of their engineers

registered

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Awareness of UK SPEC and

ECUK

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78%

66%

68%

66%

66%

Total

Other

Real Estate

Construction

Manufacturing

At least 2/3 aware that a standard setting body exists

Base: all (830)

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 / ECUK fulfilled 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

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15%

18%

17%

14%

21%

Total

Other

Real Estate

Construction

Manufacturing

Manufacturing and ‘other’ firms were less aware of UK-SPEC

Base: all (830)

Q. Have you heard of UK-SPEC?

Awareness of UK Spec is not size drivenIt follows that UK Spec is better known amongst Real Estate

employers as they have higher engagement with registration

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Competencies required and current employee

strength

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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

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The UK SPEC standard for Chartered Engineers – a reminder

A

Use a combination of general and specialist engineering knowledge and

understanding to optimise the application of existing and emerging

technology

BApply appropriate theoretical and practical methods to the analysis and

solution of engineering problems

C Provide technical and commercial management

D Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills

EDemonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards,

recognising obligations to society, the profession, and the environment

The skills requirements are sub-divided into 5 categories as identified by UK Spec

NB: the full report includes full data for all levels

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Skills shortages and future needs

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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)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)

4%

3%

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Conclusions

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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

Conclusions

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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

Conclusions II