UK ‘threatened by chemical engineering shortage’

Paul Boughton
Plans to reduce UK carbon emissions could be jeopardised by a lack of investment in chemical engineering education, according to the profession’s licensing body.

 Dr David Brown, Chief Executive of IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers) says that calls for greater investment in chemical engineering at UK universities have not been acted upon and that current graduate intake levels will fail to meet industry demand: “Chemical engineers will be at the forefront of the battle against climate change but there simply aren’t going to be enough of them graduating from our universities,” he warns.

“This year, we’ve seen a record intake of students opting to study the subject at universities but more places must be made available to meet both student and employer demand.

 “When last year’s intake figures were published, we warned that investment was needed by both Government and industry to expand existing departments and establish new ones in appropriate locations. Since then, intake has continued to grow but we have seen little evidence of investment.

 “We are close to reaching a point where further growth is impossible because we have neglected the capacity problems. Everyone will be affected – whether it’s the student who can’t study the subject they want to, the employer who can’t hire sufficient staff, or the public who pay the price for the skills shortage,” says Brown.

Last week’s provisional UCAS figures reveal that 1645 students began studying chemical engineering in the UK this year, a 13 per cent rise on 2007 intake and a 75 per cent rise since 2001.

Following recommendations by Brown, chemical engineering was also included on a list of ‘shortage occupation’ professions by the UK Migration Advisory Committee last month, which recommended employers are implicitly free to hire chemical engineers from any country, ahead of the UK’s new points-based immigration system, which begins next month.

Last week, the Government also confirmed intentions to raise emission reduction targets, from 60 per cent to 80 per cent by 2050.

Institution of Chemical Engineers