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Engineering companies across the world are reporting lack of skills to be resilient to climate change

Fewer than 4% of engineering companies across eight countries think their organisations have all of the skills to be resilient to the impacts of climate change1, a new international survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) reveals.

In a fresh review by the IET of engineering and technology skills in the battle against climate change, the survey tracked the opinions of engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the USA.

There are mixed opinions across all countries as to which skills are most needed to be resilient, from technical/engineering skills to softer skills like complex problem solving and whole systems thinking. Resilience is especially low in Malaysia and China, where only 1% think they have all of the skills they need.

Although many organisations believe that their workforce is agile enough to adapt their skillsets to new technologies and ways of working, it’s specialist environmental skills that are lacking, as well as leadership skills – which was identified as the one of the three most common barriers for organisations in meeting net zero in seven countries2.

The survey also reveals over two thirds3 of companies surveyed have a sustainability strategy, often in order to meet regulations for new markets. However, over 75% of respondents say they still need skills to deliver their strategy, including specialist sustainability skills and knowledge, and technical skills.

Over 70%4 of nearly all respondents say they are concerned about the impact of climate change on their organisation and nearly 90% of the organisations surveyed5 have seen reactions to climate change within their supply chains, with increased costs being the most common reaction.

Looking at the education pipeline, the majority of countries see their education systems as preparing young people well to work in their industry – up to 95% in China6. UK respondents are less confident in their education system, with only 35% saying it prepares them well.

Engineering employers surveyed overwhelmingly see collaboration with academia as important for delivering high quality engineering and technology candidates; when asked in which areas that education could improve, every country except Egypt had some form of collaboration in their three most commonly selected answers. These included offering industry placement years, research projects in collaboration with industry and undertaking industry-targeted projects.

Dr Gopichand Katragadda, IET President, said: “This survey has shown us that there are significant levels of trepidation regarding the potential impact of climate change on engineering employers internationally. The impact is already observable across supply chains, and goods and services becoming unavailable. This has led to greater concern over the skills that organisations are missing to be truly resilient to it.

“Despite the majority of businesses stating that they do have a sustainability strategy, this is tempered by lack of confidence in skills needed to deliver it. To help meet national net zero targets, businesses are telling us that they want to see their governments focusing their policies on economic development and industrial strategy, as well as closer collaboration between academia and industry to ensure more high-quality engineering and technology candidates are ready for industry.

“We hope that by launching the results of the survey at COP28, we can bring the engineering skills conversation to the global stage and encourage participants to see the value of engineers in solving climate change.”

The research for the IET was carried out online by YouGov from 21 August – 10 September 2023 amongst 2,142 adults working in engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the USA.

INTERNATIONAL SURVEY

International green skills 2023 survey

This year’s survey questioned over 2,000 engineering employers in ten countries around the world on their readiness to cope with climate change and net zero. 

Go to International green skills 2023 survey - Appendix: Charts and figures

UK SPECIFIC SURVEY

Sustainability skills survey 2023 - summary

The 2023 IET Skills Survey: UK Summary examines the UK’s ambition to be a world leader in Artificial Intelligence and sustainability and is part of a broader report outlining the international sustainability skill sector. 

Go to Sustainability skills survey 2023 - summary

1 Countries include China (1%), Malaysia (1%), Brazil (3%), Germany (4%), Egypt (3%), India (3%), Saudi Arabia (2%) and the USA (4%) - only the UK and Australia sit above this at 10% and 7%

2 Malaysia (44%), China (41%), Egypt (37%), Australia (35%), Brazil (33%), India (32%), USA (29%)

3 67% or more

4 71% - except the UK at 65%

5 89% or more – except for in the UK at 69%

6 UK (35%), Germany (77%), Malaysia (64%), India (78%), China (95%), Australia (80%), Brazil (69%), Saudi Arabia (86%), Egypt (65%), USA (85%)

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About the IET

  • We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community to engineer a better world.
  • We are a diverse home for engineering and technology intelligence throughout the world. This breadth and depth means we are uniquely placed to help the sector progress society.
  • We want to build the profile of engineering and technology to change outdated perceptions and tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
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IET Media enquiries

Rebecca Gillick
External Communications Manager
Email: rgillick@ngskmc-eis.net