Global engineering industry needs an extra 500,000 engineers over next 20 years

The global engineering industry will need an extra 500,000 engineers over the next two decades.

According to Martin Grant, of engineering and design consultancy Atkins, $10.5 trillion of investment will also be needed to provide environmentally acceptable power. The investment will be used to develop offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations, and upgrade the national grid, Channel 4 has reported.

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Grant says that while 500,000 engineers are needed worldwide, the UK alone will need 15,000. This is due to the country’s outdated infrastructure and ageing workforce.

Attracting students to engineering has been a challenge for some time, but the sector will now have to convince engineers from less buoyant sectors to transfer to those facing skill shortages.