MAY 2019 COMMENT
Don’t pull up
the drawbridge
CHRIS BECK, EDITOR chris.beck@markallengroup.com
What a diff erence a year makes. In 2018, a survey conducted by
Subcon found that just 7% of industry leaders thought enough
had been done to encourage females into manufacturing and
engineering roles. Fast forward to this year, and, according to the same
survey, that number has jumped to a massive 56%.
What’s changed, then? Certainly not the number of women in
engineering, which sits at just 12% of the total workforce. It could be that
the market has been exhausted of ideas for redressing the balance, and has
chosen the easy way out – just giving up.
This can’t continue, not least for the simple reason that by pulling up the
drawbridge to females, we are cutting off half of the workforce. At a time
when manufacturers are facing a chronic skills shortage, this doesn’t seem
the brightest approach.
There are things we can still do, but it won’t happen overnight. As you’ll
read on p34, Hereford is set to be home to NMiTE, a radical new style of
university, which will focus specifi cally on creating a pipeline of work-ready
engineers. Crucially, they are aiming for a 50/50 gender balance. However,
the fi rst cohort won’t be graduating from there for at least another three
years. Looking even longer-term, Susan Scurlock and Primary Engineer, the
subject of our interview on p22, are working on encouraging school children
– and girls in particular – into the industry.
Unfortunately, though, NMiTE and Scurlock are exceptions, rather than
the rule. Building a pipeline of viable female workers will take time, and now
isn’t the time to lose its focus.
C.Beck
Editor Chris Beck
chris.beck@markallengroup.com
Assistant Editor Amy Best
amy.best@markallengroup.com
Art Editor Neil Young
Production Manager Heather Woodley
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Publisher Luke Webster
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