How Many Potential Engineers Never Knew it was an Option? // PlastikCity Blog

New government plans could give 14-year-olds earlier access to technical education, work experience and local employers from 2028. In this opinion piece, Jess Clarke, Managing Director at PlastikCity, explains why the announcement is welcome, but why schools, parents and industry must also change how engineering careers are presented to young people.

Since having my toddler, Luca, I’ve started thinking more about the careers he’ll one day be encouraged to consider. He’s only one, so that decision is a long way off, but I want him to grow up knowing about the full range of options available to him.

We need more engineers. Engineering and technology already employ around 6.3 million people in the UK, accounting for almost one in five jobs. Yet the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s 2025 skills survey found that 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles.

This is not a distant problem. Within the plastics industry, we regularly hear about difficulties recruiting people with the technical skills needed to operate, maintain and improve increasingly advanced manufacturing processes. Automation, sustainability, digitalisation and new materials are changing the skills businesses require, while experienced engineers continue to retire. And the more traditional roles are just as difficult to recruit for, if not more!

If we want more people to enter the sector, engineering must be presented to young people as the excellent, varied and potentially lucrative career it is. PlastikCity’s Sales Director, Will Clarke, is a good example of what can happen when it isn’t.

At school, he excelled at science, maths, and design and technology. On paper, he would have been an ideal candidate for engineering, but he had no idea it was even an option. Unfortunately, at school, we simply weren’t shown the range of roles, what engineers actually did or the different routes into the profession.

That experience is clearly not unusual. EngineeringUK reports that only 36% of young people say they know a fair amount about what engineers do. Although 46% are interested in an engineering career, only 25% feel that engineering fits well with who they are. These figures suggest that interest exists, but young people are not necessarily able to picture themselves in the profession. That is a serious problem for the future talent pipeline.

Of course, I’m a strong supporter of encouraging more women into STEM. Women make up just 16.9% of the UK engineering and technology workforce, so better representation is clearly needed. But the wider and more pressing priority must be to get more people considering engineering in the first place, whatever their gender, race, religion or background. We need a larger pool of future engineers.

Parents have an important influence, but we cannot leave it entirely to them. EngineeringUK found that 79% of parents considered an engineering career appealing for their child, with good earning potential the most commonly selected reason. However, 55% said they were not confident giving advice about engineering careers.

I’m not an engineer, but working in the plastics industry means I can do my part in showing Luca the opportunities available. His awareness of engineering should not depend on where his parents happen to work though – every child should receive clear information about engineering and the routes into it.

That is why the government’s technical education announcement reported by the BBC on 27 July is encouraging. Under the plans, pupils in England would be able to combine core academic subjects with technical education linked to local industries from the age of 14. The proposals include practical experience, time with employers and clearer routes into areas such as engineering, advanced manufacturing and digital technology. Ofsted would also recognise the quality of technical education and how well schools prepare young people for work.

However, one difficulty is timing. The government’s ambition is to begin rolling out the new pathways in September 2028. Even if that timetable is met, it will take years for the benefits to reach employers and the industry overall. The announcement is an important recognition of the problem, but it cannot be treated as a quick solution to the skills shortages businesses face now.

There is also a perception issue to address. Germany’s dual vocational training system is embedded in its economy and, according to the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, apprenticeships are traditionally held in high esteem. Technical routes are recognised as credible ways into skilled, respected careers.

Interestingly, British engineers already command considerable public trust. The 2025 Ipsos Veracity Index found that 90% of people trusted engineers to tell the truth, placing them ahead of doctors at 85%. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of respect. The problem is therefore not a lack of respect. Rather, it’s that engineering is still shadowed by a legacy image – too often associated with heavy physical labour rather than high-tech innovation – and is rarely presented to young people with the same visibility, clarity and sense of aspiration as professions like medicine.

Schools need to take a far more proactive lead in integrating engineering into early career guidance. While employers must support this through site visits, practical activities, and work experience, industry cannot compensate for a school system that fails to show pupils what engineers actually do. Schools must normalise technical pathways as dynamic, ambitious first choices.

For Luca, I will make sure engineering is among the many careers he knows he can consider. The bigger question is how we make sure every child is given the same opportunity.

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