Ahead of National Engineering Day on 4 November, a new survey of Fellows, research grant holders and prize winners of the Royal Academy of Engineering finds Britain’s leading engineers optimistic about the future of their profession.
At a time when public fears about AI and jobs are widely reported, they believe AI will make engineering skills more valuable, not less. More than nine in ten (92%) of those surveyed agree that systems thinking, problem solving and critical thinking, the habits of mind at the core of engineering, will become even more valuable in the age of AI. Three quarters (75%) agree strongly, and just 2% disagree.
- 92% of Britain’s leading engineers think systems thinking, problem solving and critical thinking – core engineering skills – will become more valuable in an age of AI.
- 77% expect a new generation of engineering roles and specialisms to emerge thanks to AI.
Over three quarters (77%) also expect AI to create a new generation of engineering roles and specialisms that barely exist today and only 26% think we will lose more jobs than we gain.
AI: a tool, not a takeover
Their optimism comes from experience. Many already use AI to search and summarise, draft documents, write code, analyse data and some use it for modelling and design iteration. More than two thirds (68%) say it will change how engineers work “a great deal” over the next five years.
Britain’s leading engineers are telling us that there is room for optimism in an age of AI. Many of them use AI in their own work and recruit engineers themselves, and they believe that engineering skills will become even more vital as we work alongside AI to improve the world around us.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President, Royal Academy of Engineering
Looking ahead, respondents expect a division of labour, not a replacement. Two-thirds (67%) think that after 2030 most engineers share tasks with AI. They expect the engineer’s job to shift from producing every part of the work to framing problems, checking what AI produces, and taking responsibility for the decisions. Respondents repeatedly warn that AI’s outputs can look convincing and still be wrong, making critical thinking even more important, together with development of sensible standards.
A new generation of engineering jobs
Respondents expect growing demand for engineers who check whether AI’s outputs are reliable, set safe limits on its use, audit automated decisions and maintain human responsibility for the results. Asked to imagine engineering jobs 50 years from now, respondents’ suggestions included AI safety engineers, AI accountability engineers, and AI forensic engineers, who will investigate why AI models go rogue or fail.
AI aside, respondents expect demand for engineers to grow. Seven in ten (69%) expect demand for newly qualified engineering graduates to rise, and 77% expect demand for engineers with vocational qualifications in their sector to rise over the next five years.
This echoes government projections, which suggest that demand for engineering roles across the UK will rise by 2.8%, equating to approximately 173,000 net new jobs by 2030. However, the UK is already short of skilled engineers. Asked what lies behind the shortage, respondents pointed to competition from other sectors, experienced engineers retiring and too few graduates entering the job market.
Now hiring: the engineers of 2076
To help close the gap, the Royal Academy of Engineering is marking National Engineering Day on 4 November, in its 50th year, with a recruitment campaign from the future, to inspire the next generation of innovators. Now Hiring: The Engineers of 2076 is a series of job adverts for engineering roles that don’t yet exist, shaped by an expert panel of engineers and technologists. From Living City Shapers designing buildings that repair their own cracks, to Lunacycle Creators building bicycles for commuting on the moon, and Haptic Hologram Makers letting surgeons rehearse operations before they pick up a scalpel, each advert links to the AI-Z of Engineering, a future-focused guide to engineering careers of today and tomorrow.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “Britain’s leading engineers are telling us that there is room for optimism in an age of AI. Many of them use AI in their own work and recruit engineers themselves, and they believe that engineering skills will become even more vital as we work alongside AI to improve the world around us.
“The engineers – and future Fellows of our Academy – who will shape life in 2076 are at school today, the first generation to grow up with AI. Inspiring them to see themselves creating that future starts now.”
The Now Hiring: The Engineers of 2076 campaign can be viewed here and on digital billboards in London, Belfast and Newcastle on National Engineering Day.
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