Skills shortage crisis looms

Organised by Premier EDA Solutions, the panel, chaired by Harry Tee, chairman of the Electronics Leadership Council, consisted of Huvin Thompson from ABB; Nick Kings from Ericsson; David Brooks from Snell & Wilcox, Richard Hollinshead from Meridian Audio and Valerie Thorn from AND Technology Research. Tee looked at many constraints that affect the industry, starting with obsolescence. Thompson, vp of instrumentation & analytical, ABB said that cost was the major constraint. "Customers want a low cost product," he noted. "This is compounded with issues such as the Far East driving down costs and, although reengineering is one solution, this incurs further costs. It takes a few years to develop products and we are constantly being pushed to design quickly - and then the product still has to last 10 years." Thorn, ceo and consultant at AND, agreed that cost was a constant challenge. "In a consultancy role, customers demand low cost," she observed. "When we questioned our customers as to the reasons why they needed a product to last 10 years, they had no answer. Indeed, many products were only ever going to be required for around five years." This demand for long term products, added Thompson, was not the fault of engineers, but rather the purchasers. The panel was then asked why the UK needs to be promoted as a location for investment. Hollinshead, director of engineering at Meridian Audio said that there were key benefits. "We have the advantage of being in the EU," he explained. "There is also the issue of raw economics. Our wage levels are good, the exchange rate is good and costs are not as high as other parts of the EU." However, Brooks, executive vp, systems architecture at Snell & Wilcox, was less optimistic. "In the broadcast sector, there have been a number of issues affecting designers. When companies such as the IBA close, you lose key people and with the lack of young people entering the industry, we are heading towards a catastrophe." Brooks pointed out how bad the situation was by stating that he was considering leaving the UK to work in Silicon Valley. "The desire to innovate is higher," he said. The main focus of the debate was how to encourage young people to choose engineering as a career. Brooks, said: "UK Design engineers are among the best in the world, but there is a lack of young people with the right competencies. We need a breadth of expertise and this can be better achieved by companies training graduates in house. Nevertheless, these companies struggle to find the balance between financial constraints and training, especially in the current economic downturn." Kings, hardware engineering manager at Ericsson, added that the reduction in industry training had been a gradual process over the last 20 years. He asserted: "In the days of huge electronics corporations, high number of apprentices were taken on. But many of these companies are now gone and smaller organisations are bound by budgetary constraints. Removing in house training is often regarded as a cost cutting exercise." However, Kings remained positive and believed that the solution was for UK companies to take a more pragmatic approach. "Engineering is about organisation and the ability to accommodate," he said. "But we must stop looking back at the golden age – it's not coming back." As Tee noted, the UK has one third of all European designers. "We have to build an economy on intellectual property," he said. "But we can't do this without the right people. Everyone's lost confidence in the banking industry, so now is the time to consider engineering as a career. We need to stimulate an interest in engineering at an early age. Thompson mentors young students and encourages this interest. He noted: "Once you make engineering exciting, there is a natural inquisitiveness and we need to reach out to them, rather than wait for them to show an interest." Tee added that the negative perception of engineers needs to be addressed, with children describing engineers as 'geeks', 'anoraks' and 'nerds'. Once again, funding was of concern, especially with start up companies. "The major challenges for a start up is where it will fit in the supply chain," warned Thorn. "They may well have good ideas, but these still need to get to the market place. The UK is great at researching technology, but bad at getting it commercialised on a global scale." Brooks concurred saying that while the UK has traditionally been good at coming up with ideas, by having to focus on commercial issues, it stifles creativity. "Innovation is less valued," he stated, "Industries in the current climate may have to change financial course and this will leave universities in trouble as they suddenly can't afford to fund their research. When the recession is over, this may well continue, so we need the flexibility and innovation that comes from knowledge." Touching on legislation, Hollinshead said how implementation of the low power stand by regulation, meant that Meridian Audio had to redesign all of its products by next year. He pointed out: "The government needs to give us more time." Thompson believed that there would be a continued increase in legislation, and he urged designers to be cautious as these would be the ones where the responsibility would lie. "It will make their jobs more difficult – and more boring," he added. "Unfortunately, there's no solution, other than the need to be more innovative. On the positive side, it is a driver for innovation." "When the government introduced targets for schools," Kings believed, "this had an adverse effect on education standards. Schools were left to choose a syllabus in which it could hit the targets." But, he added, in an industry that makes 'cool things', it should be easy to inspire children. So is this the fault of schools and universities? Thorn, ceo and consultant at AND, believed that the education system was not to blame. "Innovation has lost its value," she warned, "And industries in the current climate may have to change their financial course. This leaves universities in trouble as suddenly they can no longer afford to fund their research." Kings added that training goes beyond academia: "We need more companies embracing in house training," he asserted. "This will increase graduates' all round knowledge and allow them to be available for more start ups." Brooks stressed: "Most companies consider training to be too expensive, but I disagree. It's an investment. While you may not keep them all, at least you know the engineer and how he fits in with the team. If a design engineer can't be a team player, this will result in a lack of communication and you won't even get a project to market." Tee concluded that there were answers; for example, the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (SEMTA), which encourages UK businesses to invest in skills. "I'm frankly astonished that more kids aren't encouraged into this industry," he concluded. "But young people need to be stimulated into choosing engineering as a career – not just a 'job', but as an opportunity to innovate and create." Tee remained confident that UK design engineers would weather the storm, citing countries such as India and China as opportunities to sell UK capabilities. "However," he warned, "we must ensure the government puts its money exactly where it needs to go – in skills training."