The Importance of Promoting Engineering and Technology Careers in Schools

IPEM welcomes the publication of a report by Engineering UK, looking at what teachers know and think about careers in engineering and technology and routes into these professions. IPEM believes students need more real-world context embedded into their learning to understand how the national curriculum relates to their future career opportunities.

This, coupled with promotion of the many careers within engineering, such as a Clinical Engineer and Clinical Technologist, will ultimately increase students’ motivation and engagement, helping to address the UK’s acute workforce shortages.

IPEM Chief Executive Gill Collinson, said:

“As an organisation that IPEM works with regularly, we welcome Engineering UK’s report into what teachers know and think about routes into engineering and technology.

It is excellent to see the enthusiasm of teachers for promoting engineering and technology careers. There are a wide range of roles in healthcare alone, from the maintenance of mechanical devices, to ensuring the safety of large scanners, to innovating new devices to provide solutions to specific challenges being faced by a patient. Clinical Engineers are core to the development, testing and safe implementation of emerging technologies such as AI. They can also work in healthcare, in the private sector and in universities carrying out research and development.

These careers are highly rewarding and varied and you know that you are helping others every day through your work. You could even become a Chartered Engineer, something that IPEM works with the Engineering Council to facilitate for our members.

However, we know that many young people are unaware of engineering careers in healthcare. That’s why IPEM provides resources for our members to take part in outreach activities with schools, as many did during the recent Healthcare Science Week. These activities provide a rich context to support students to transfer their knowledge and skills into the real world or a new environment.

With acute workforce shortages across Clinical Engineering and, indeed Medical Physics, it is important that these careers are actively promoted to young people and their teachers have a key role to play in that.

There are a number of ways to become a Clinical Engineer or Clinical Technologist and you do not always need to have a degree. At IPEM we offer training and CPD and are actively working to promote careers in engineering and technology, as well as supporting the existing workforce. 

We believe that these highly skilled professionals should be more widely recognised and valued and those in the NHS should be involved in the senior decision making process, especially in relation to the regulation of medical devices.”

IPEM provides a wealth of information on its website about careers in Clinical Engineering and Technology. This includes its Roadmap for Advancing Clinical Technologist Careers, published last year

In its Manifesto for the Future of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering, IPEM is calling for wider access to careers across STEM subjects, including the greater use of apprenticeships and ‘on the job learning’ and wants “to ensure that Clinical Engineers and other registered professionals in medical physics are included in the senior management decision making processes of every NHS Trust, especially in the regulation of medical devices.”