Memorandum 33
Submission from INucE and BNES (Institution
of Nuclear Engineers and the British Nuclear Energy Society)
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.1 This response is issued by British Nuclear
Energy Society (BNES) and the Institution of Nuclear Engineers
(INucE) in response to The Innovation, Universities and Skills
Committee major inquiry into engineering announced on 29 January
2008. The two societies have also responded separately to Engineering
Case Study: NUCLEAR ENGINEERING. Some general comments on nuclear
will be found in this ENGINEERING response as that is the sector
in which our members mostly work.
1.2 The response addresses the five areas
identified by the select committee from the perspective of our
learned nuclear societies. The provision of adequately qualified
and numerous professional engineers is independent of the nuclear
industry covering all sectors and our general concerns are expressed
here. More detailed nuclear issues are included in the associated
Case Study on Nuclear Engineering. Linkage between, for example,
school, university, industry, qualification, innovation, science
and engineering, socio-political, energy and environment and in
our case between the nuclear and other industries are factors
that need to be addressed if the UK is be a success in a global
market place.
1.3 As BNES and INucE progress to form a
Nuclear Institute, we will continue to work to the benefit of
the UK by encouraging better understanding of nuclear energy issues
and the assuring the qualification of nuclear engineers in particular.
2. ABOUT BNES
& INUCE
2.1 The British Nuclear Energy Society (BNES)
is the leading "Learned Society" for Nuclear Energy.
The Society functions almost completely by the contributions of
volunteers who make available their experience and dedication
to provide information to members UK, worldwide on Nuclear Energy
issues, to afford opportunities for members to publish and present
papers, meet and debate issues locally, nationally and internationally,
to promote nuclear energy specific training in the UK and to further
increased public understanding of the issues surrounding the use
of nuclear energy.
2.2 The Institution of Nuclear Engineers
(INucE) is a professional body representing a broad cross-section
of nuclear engineers engaged in various aspects of nuclear technology,
predominantly in the UK, but also in the USA, South Africa and
Asia. Members are involved in many aspects of the fuel cycle from
fabrication, through operation of nuclear power plants, to decommissioning
and waste management, as well as regulation. Their mission is
to promote the highest professional and safety standards for the
nuclear industry
2.3 The two societies have announced their
intention to merge and are currently pursuing the necessary charitable
processes. This structure will continue our joint continuing encouragement
of E&T initiatives to promote and interest specifically in
the nuclear energy field but recognising that this field itself
is dependent on a base of good science and engineering in general.
3. RESPONSE:
ENGINEERING
Preamble
3.1 The role of engineering in general as
opposed to nuclear specifically is very important to BNES and
INucE because the activities of our members require interaction
with virtually all engineering disciplines. Not only engineering
but also science and, for example BNES' Advisory Council comprises
11 professional engineering and scientific institutions.
3.2 The discipline of engineering is founded
on good science and mathematics in schools and so the Societies
consider that in ensuring that engineers of right inspiration
and skill starts with the scientific education of school children,
continues with excellence in teaching at further institutions
and is supported by a good appreciation of the public in general
as to the important role of both engineering and science. That
is why BNES' Young Generation Network comprising one third of
our membership and our Education and Training activities focus
on school children and recognise the importance of Government
initiatives such as Energy Foresight. We believe it is very important
to encourage young people in engineering of both genders.
3.3 Continuing from its important role in
ancient civilisations, today engineering is about the economic
application of science to meet every day social needs. How many
excellent ideas and inventions from past centuries have not been
realisable until engineers have come up with the energy process
and materials to enable delivery? If engineers have contributed
to our global warming concerns and scientists are investigating
the impact; it will fall again to engineers to realise the necessary
solutions and ensure that these solutions are not themselves environmentally
damaging.
The role of engineering and engineers in UK society
3.4 In focusing on engineers in UK society
it is essential to look at this in global context. Engineers work
for global companies, transfer readily around the European Community
and beyond in to other regions. This is a fact of life, is driven
by personal ambition, projects of global significance and has
created a market for engineers in which the UK must take part
in the competition for what in some cases is becoming a diminishing
resource.
3.5 The commentary below is largely aimed
at "professional engineers", ie those who have or could
reasonably be expected to take a qualification with the Professional
Institutions of which INucE is one. Unfortunately, in the UK,
the term "Engineer" is used for a wide range of disciplines
including those that are not of a "Professional" nature
and the public are not able to appreciate the point that Professional
Institutions award the status of Chartered Engineer to those who
they believe can take responsibility for the performance of the
solutions they develop. There is a staged process to achieve this
level of responsibility and other grades of engineer such as associate,
technician, scientist may be found in various institutions.
3.6 The UK role of engineers mirrors the
role in societies across the world and includes activities such
as:
(i) problem solving, development of ideas,
links to science and technology research, the design process,
the safety assessment process, construction, commissioning, operation,
decommissioning and waste management, best practicable environmental
options, best practicable means, economics, social and ethical
responsibility.
(ii) Engineers must have good grounding
and understanding of the laws of science and therefore have multidisciplinary
grounding in a wide range of subjects, especially mathematics
and modelling processes and must be able to work with a wide range
of standards, codes of practice and with environmental, health
and safety quality systems.
3.7 The need to ensure an adequate supply
of engineers has been understood for a number of years now and
this is not a problem limited to the nuclear industry. Surveys
have been undertaken on the roles and needs for engineers by Regional
Development Agencies for example and the concerns of an ageing
engineering workforce often raised. More recently the sector skills
councils such as Cogent have quantified the challenge and, this
has led to the development of skills academies of which the National
Skills Academy, Nuclear has been the first off the stocks.
The role of engineering and engineers in UK's
innovation drive
3.8 Engineering plays an important role
in turning our science into practical solutions in the key UK
requirements such as energy, infrastructure, health, transport,
raw materials and education. Our concerns in BNES and INucE fall
largely in the sector of energy, which is where most of our members
work. Adequate energy supplies and proper use of it represents
the foundation of society as we know it. So we believe that engineers
play an essential role in providing all necessary energy sources,
distribution systems and efficient plant and processes to use
it.
3.9 More generally, innovation in the current,
global, commercial climate can be very challenging indeed. The
electronics/communications revolution of the 1990's has resulted
in a state whereby technological "pull", as a result
of commercial need, can now realistically influence what is possible-many
technical showstoppers have essentially been removed. Furthermore,
the enormous commercial opportunities for high-tech consumer products
can now yield the much-needed financial support, either via venture
capital or revenues, necessary to realise the technological leaps
on which these products rely. In the next few years and decades,
it is essential that such innovation cascades down to address
global challenges such as sustainable living, energy supply and
climate change where the commercial support may be driven differently.
3.10 A common denominator across almost
all innovation is the ability of an individual, team, company
or organisation to implement engineered solutions. This is readily
demonstrated across all sectors, such as the built environment,
transport infrastructure, energy, electronics and software development.
Many of these sectors now exploit significantly advanced methods
that draw on many years' technical training and experience that
are only found in mid-career, time-served engineers. Such people
are currently in short supply on a global scale, with sectors
such as the nuclear sector merely demonstrating the acute extent
of the problem. The advanced methods described above are not confined,
for example, to electronic system design or the use of advanced
materials in construction-they extend to the crucial areas of
engineering project management, manufacturing across continents,
safety/regulation and the training/education of aspiring engineers
by experienced engineers in the international community. The role
of Engineering is therefore crucial in the UK drive for innovation
as, otherwise, we can not:
- realise what is not currently possible
but necessary to improve our standard of living and the economic
base, and
- grasp, manage and implement new technology
and scientific capabilities,
- compete internationally on commercial and
technological levels.
The state of the engineering skills base in the
UK, including the supply of engineers and issues of diversity.
3.11 The number of applications to study
Engineering at Universities in the UK has been declining now for
several years, with a few isolated exceptions. This is due, without
doubt, to a complex combination of issues but, primarily, because
of:
- the greater diversity in course provision
now on offer at tertiary level in related subjects, and
- due to the significant requirement incumbent
on accredited courses to recruit undergraduates with numerate
ability (Maths A level) compared to those schemes that do not.
3.12 It is essential that Engineers with
advanced numerate ability are brought on, but there are many courses
and opportunities that do not require this qualification offering
similarly rewarding career paths. The university sector has been
driven towards a greater diversity of course provision to stimulate
greater numbers of applications from prospective students. However,
employers in the engineering sector now readily feel the effect
of the greater diversity in employment opportunities, with significant
competition from the finance industry, for example, for the very
best engineering graduates.
3.13 A graduate-level Engineering education
remains a valuable qualification in terms of the diversity of
opportunity that it affords, but the prospect of its study on
leaving school or college seems unable to match this demand at
present. An A-level qualification in Engineering could be one
mechanism to redress this state of affairs but it must not devalue
the basic science qualifications. As a minimum, children should
be able to differentiate between science and engineering and understand
the exciting and socially important career opportunities available.
3.14 To increase the supply of engineering
manpower, not just at graduate level, better and more rigorous
teaching of physics and maths in schools is essential. It may
be necessary to give these two, and other academically rigorous
subjects, some form of weighting in school league tables. At the
moment schools are judged almost entirely on such tables and it
is well known that it is much easier to get an "A" grade
in softer subjects such as Media Studies or Textiles then it is
for maths or physics. The temptation for schools to encourage
soft subjects is very hard to resist but a way round this must
be found if we are to survive as a nation in an increasing high
tech world.
3.15 For the case of overseas students at
both undergraduate and postgraduate level, the situation is slightly
better. Significant numbers of high-quality, overseas students
study across the UK for a wide variety of engineering qualifications.
Many of these pursue rewarding careers in engineering but there
are restrictions on the employment potential of foreign nationals
in defence and security, for example. Furthermore, the supply
chain is often conservative about their appointment for similar
reasons. Hence, the potential benefit of overseas resource offsetting
the need for good engineers is limited and this is likely to continue
to be the case.
3.16 Some are also starting to raise the
ethical concern of taking key skilled persons from countries with
under-developed economies, because it will be engineers who are
also necessary to help in the development of these economies;
so in the UK context there may be a case for considering our role
in international aid and development.
3.17 Some specific engineering sectors,
such as consultancy, telecoms and computer systems have a very
young age profile, with some engineering consultancies having
average ages of their workforces in the 28-30 years region. This
is in stark contrast with larger engineering companies, utilities
and government departments where the age profile can be heavily
skewed towards retirement age. This is especially the case for
the larger companies in the nuclear sector, and redressing this
imbalance is an ongoing challenge. A polarised workplace of this
type in terms of outlook and ambition is very unusual and not
always consistent with parallel graduate employment experiences.
3.18 There is a further need to ensure the
effective transfer of expertise from the senior engineers who
are about to consider retirement. This has started to happen in
many universities, where semi-retired experts from industry are
found complimenting lecture series but it is ad-hoc. There
has never been a more exciting time to be an engineer, with competitive
salaries, international opportunities and career mobility but
the sector perhaps would benefit from greater confidence in the
availability of engineering skills long into the future, in particular
to benefit resource planning.
The importance of engineering to R&D and the
contribution of R&D to engineering
3.19 Very little cutting-edge R&D can
be accomplished without significant engineering input and talent.
Many of the high-profile scientific achievements of the past few
decades, such as DNA profiling, the Internet and the mobile communications
revolution have relied implicitly "post-concept" on
engineering excellence, particularly in process design and manufacture.
Without engineering input at proposal stage and sustained through
to project delivery, R&D success can be compromised and poorly
specified. Over the last two decades several of the large commercial
R&D centres have closed, undermining this once valuable source
of exceptional knowledge and experience. Notable exceptions are
the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory and the National
Physical Laboratory. In the nuclear context, the proposal to create
a National Nuclear Laboratory would reverse a trend of drastically
reducing the UK's capability in this area. It should be remembered
that vibrant R&D facilities can generate technical growth
beyond their core raison d'etre because they attract the best
research workers.
3.20 Whilst universities offer perhaps the
broadest horizons for R&D endeavour across the engineering
sector, the current shorter-term focus on research investment
has made university-based engineering appointments supporting
R&D activities much less attractive than once was the case.
Many senior engineers in these roles are now approaching retirement,
and this situation has not been helped by the focus of the Research
Assessment Exercise on the esoteric and internationally-leading
over the longer-term, proof-of-principle basis of R&D. The
quality of the PhD learning experience in experimental subjects
can be heavily reliant on cutting-edge engineering support. It
is essential that the formulation of the Research Excellence Framework
fully recognises these issues.
3.21 The contribution of R&D to engineering
is critical to the international competitiveness of UK industry
and the way in which it is supported is very diverse. Most of
the existing initiatives, from for example EU Framework grants
through to small consultancy exercises directly-funded by industry
enjoy a good level of success. Dedicated initiatives that bring
in expertise across industry and academe, such as the recent Competition
of Ideas' activities, are a welcome opportunity to bridge the
gulf between academic objectives and industry need. However, in
comparison with many other European nations, such innovation does
not benefit from an underpinning framework of expertise, perhaps
once offered by dedicated industry-based research centres, and
it is difficult to identify how the training of individuals involved
with these programmes can be made more contiguous.
3.22 It is encouraging that recent EU requirements
for participation in Framework 7 projects have placed a high priority
on the funding of an adequate level of PhDs to ensure not only
research but the development of a high quality post graduate skills
base. These PhD's will contribute to the direction that engineering
takes in the future in our industry, universities and hopefully
schools.
The roles of industry, universities, professional
bodies, Government, unions and others in promoting engineering
skills and the formation and development of careers in engineering
3.23 Over the last few years, particularly,
in the nuclear sector great strides have been made to rationalise
the way in which skills, training, awards and progression are
understood and managed. This has resulted in a number of welcome
initiatives such as the National Skills Academy, Nuclear, which
is developing employer led objectives Training and education supporting
the nuclear field is in the process of being reinvigorated, right
through from apprentice-level to degree and onto research-level
qualification. However, much remains to be achieved with regard
to the enormous socio-economic impact likely when many of the
UK legacy sites close whilst significant skills requirements start
to be felt for new build. These initiatives have grown out of
the wider initiatives of Cogent and others referred to in 3.1.
3.24 Industrial companies are engaged in
engineering development in the engineering sectors including nuclear,
where they see that there are realistic contract opportunities.
Development is linked to engineering skills and there are Monitored
Professional Development Schemes whereby mentoring, internal training
courses and events that link with and support those offered by
the university sector and lead to Chartered Engineering status.
3.25 Universities aim to provide undergraduate
learning for tomorrow's engineers across the engineering disciplines
required by the nuclear sector, in addition to dedicated industry-based
modules and specific nuclear provision for specialists. However,
in consideration of the current climate of fee-paying students,
this provision has to meet with the aspirations of prospective
undergraduate students. Such aspirations are rarely aligned with
the employer-driven needs of the sector.
3.26 Universities contribute significantly
to the research requirements of UK Engineering, providing the
all-important broader context in which proof-of-principle exercises
can be done before being exposed to the harsh realities of the
commercial environment. They also provide the scope for fledgling
researchers to hone their craft before progressing onto commercial
scale R&D and the management thereof. The essential transferable
skills acquired through university research comprise technical
writing, presentation, analytical and numerate abilities; these
are difficult to source by any other route. Related programmes,
such as EngD and MRes research initiatives, are a welcome development
of the traditional PhD that are much more attractive to Engineers
with ambitions in the commercial sector. They demonstrate a welcome
trend that should be continued.
3.27 NTEC is an example of the cooperation
of 11 major universities with nuclear courses arranged so that
that they complement rather than compete with each other in achieving
appropriate nuclear excellence in training future engineers.
3.28 BNES as a learned society and INucE
as a Professional Institution will continue to play key roles
in our particular fields to promote the provision of skilled engineering
resource in the UK and beyond. An important objective of our planned
combined society "The Nuclear Institute" will be to
continue to encourage the networking of all establishments and
individuals concerned with nuclear energy, operation, regulation,
engineering, education and waste management in the UK, to continue
to offer charitable funds within our capability to encourage this,
through our BNES Advisory Council to continue to work and collaborate
with all the major Professional Engineering and Scientific Institutions
who have members who work in the nuclear industry, through INucE
to continue to offer professional qualifications that give opportunity
for recognition by the Engineering Council, to encourage initiatives
amongst the public in general so that they are able to better
understand the issues surrounding nuclear energy, how it is engineered
and how it relates to all the other energy sources and application
technologies that are important the economic and sustainable future
of the UK and the world.
3.29 Currently BNES operates the Nuclear
Academic and Industry Liaison Sub-committee (NAILS) to promote
the exchange of knowledge between industry and academia with the
aim of bringing closer the mutual understanding of R&D needs.
Future plans are to publish this information more widely. This
work will continue under the new Nuclear Institute.
3.30 We look forward to continuing our close
work with Government Agencies to further growth of engineering
capability and competence in the UK and to provide an independent
learned society view point on these issues.
4. CONCLUDING
REMARKS
4.1 BNES and INucE welcome the concern of
the Universities, Skills and Innovation Committee to investigate
ENGINEERING, something that has engaged many of our members now
for the last decade. The recent formation of the National Skills
Academy, Nuclear has in our opinion been a welcome out-turn for
the nuclear industry in particular and now has the challenge to
put this particular industry on a sound footing for the future.
We also look forward to other successful academies noting that
engineers will work in many industries during their working lives
and cross transfer valuable lessons form one industry to another.
4.2 The focus of the committee's enquiry
is on engineering and the UK but neither of these can be taken
in isolation. Science and Engineering are highly integrated, the
former underpinning the innovation and understanding of our future
technologies and the latter ensuring that such science is feasible
in commercial application, works effectively and efficiently,
generates economic benefits whilst at the same time avoids social
detriments.
4.3 The solution to the problem is to meet
future needs (short-, medium- and long-term) for engineers by
ensuring that the appropriate proportion of our education out
put is interested in engineering, that they are generally knowledgeable,
adequately skilled in specifics, acceptably qualified, able to
take appropriate responsibility for their actions and can deliver
to an informed public.
4.4 Within our charitable objectives, BNES
and INucE looking forward to working with Government and others
to further either the advancement of engineering in the UK.
March 2008
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