To celebrate National Women in Engineering Day, we've a guest blog from Ann Watson, Chief Executive of Semta

It’s a well-rehearsed script by now, but as it’s National Women in Engineering Day it’s well worth running through once again the top three reasons that it is so crucial that we up the numbers and proportion of women in engineering – from the nine per cent of the sector’s workforce women comprise at present to as close to half of it as possible.

One – we have an almighty skills shortage, it is well documented that we need some 830,000 science, engineering and technology (SET) professionals and 800,000 STEM graduates by 2020 to meet employer demand.

Two – broadening the talent pool would inject creativity and new ideas into an engineering sector which relies on those things to remain world-leading.

Three – we cannot afford, as a country, to waste the potential of girls who might be inclined towards a STEM career. If we increased the number of women in STEM to match the number of men it’d be worth some £2bn per year to the UK economy – that is not an inconsequential sum of money which could be used to build the schools and hospitals we all rely upon.

We were delighted to announce in May that a number of EAL qualifications now carry UCAS tariff points which meet Department for Education requirements and will count towards league tables and university entry.

This is a major milestone which gives many of our awards parity and context alongside academic achievement and allows our FE customers a much greater choice. EAL awards are much more flexible than those of other awarding bodies.  They provide a blended more vocational offer, that suits a wide range of learners, combining theory with practical application and a variety of assessment methods from online examinations to practical projects, which can be tailored to fit the needs of the training organisation and its learners.  Our qualifications have choice and flexibility to be delivered as standalone qualifications or alongside qualifications such as A-Levels and are suitable for all ages – from Key Stage 5 (16-18) to full-time adult learners.

Is it too soon to start talking about a highlight of 2016 in January? Launching a landmark joint venture in Oman to boost the skills of thousands of young Omani engineers has certainly been a dynamic start to the year for the whole team here at EAL.

We jumped at the chance to share our industry expertise and extensive experience of designing qualifications with an overseas audience and to work in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).  On a world stage the UK is still seen as a leading player in engineering. Being able to take everything we’ve learnt here at home and help to apply it in an economy like Oman’s with aspirations to grow, diversify and invest in its young engineers, is extremely rewarding. 

As we return to work after the holidays, I’m delighted to report we are once again in the privileged position of beginning a new year as a thriving and highly effective business that reinvests in the industries we serve. We have award-winning qualifications amongst our extensive portfolio and an established reputation for quality and service amongst our customers. We can boast a united team with unrivalled industry expertise and experience of building long-standing partnerships. Initiatives like Trailblazers have given us opportunities to work more closely with employers and build an even better understanding of our customers. Against this backdrop 2016 looks set to be an exciting year for us.

Week in and week out I see practical examples of how the way we work has a positive impact on learners, on our Centres and on industry.  Sometimes it’s a big thing, at others times it’s a smaller but significant piece of the jigsaw. 

I can’t remember an autumn statement and comprehensive spending review that has been so nervously anticipated. Everyone involved in skills – from employers to the FE sector – have braced themselves in the knowledge that significant changes are just around the corner.

Within George Osborne’s speech, there appear to be some cautious positives for the skills agenda: 16-19 fully funded skills provision is protected and FE budgets for adult skills remain unchanged in cash terms. The government holds fast to its target for 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. Support for individuals to pursue skills development has also been increased with the extension of tuition fee loans and maintenance loans being opened up to support part time students.