The day-long Summit taking place in London on 6 June 2018 focuses on addressing the big questions in this space. How do we attract and retain the next generation? How do we fill the skills gap? How will we deal with the loss of knowledge as more experienced workers retire?

Taking place during the Year of Engineering, the summit will explore ongoing concerns around the skills gap in our industry in the UK. Estimates project that there will be a demand for 265,000 skilled employees in our sector, including 186,000 engineers until 2024. This situation is further exacerbated by the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit and its potential impact on the free movement of Europeans which has traditionally helped to meet this demand.

Meanwhile, our industry, like many others, needs to adapt if it wishes to attract, but most importantly retain, millennials who will soon make up 50% of the global workforce. We need to develop new ways of working to appeal to a generation of highly-educated, digitally-native, socially-conscious and confident self-starters.

Speakers include Dr Hayaatun Sillem, of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Mark Titterington of Engineering UK, Michelle Russell of The National Skills Academy for Rail and Jenny Young of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board. In addition, we’ll hear from organisations including AECOM, Arup, DfID, Engineering Council, Mott MacDonald, Ramboll UK, Stantec, Turner & Townsend, Waterman and WSP.

The afternoon includes practical sessions dedicated to improving commercial and business skills, as well as knowledge and understanding of the wider industry. The informative and engaging programme has been developed to appeal to a broad spectrum including CEOs, HR managers/directors, emerging leaders, technicians and apprentices.

Find out more about Skills Summit 2018