There are not many careers where it can be said that what you do will change lives, improve the environment we all live in and make such an impact on our world that we cannot survive without it. Engineering is that career.

Everything around us, from the latest Formula One car, satellite navigation, the London Eye or latest surgical equipment that could save your life, is down to engineering. I am delighted and proud to be involved in engineering at a time when the profession, our engineers and our organisation, are on the brink of so many opportunities, which this supplement will touch upon. At the heart of these opportunities are our future engineers, the next generation.

Our vision is clear and simple: improve the world through engineering. What I hope you will find over the next few pages is an insight into how to get involved in engineering and what an amazing career you could have if you choose it. Should you do so, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) will be there to support you at every step of your career, from helping you to choose it through to your continued professional development and beyond.

This week we celebrated the launch of our Engineering Technician (EngTech) scheme. We will soon be awarding some of the brightest young engineering apprentices with Whitworth Scholarships in honour of the legacy of one of the greatest apprentices of all time, Sir Joseph Whitworth.

So how can EngTech make a difference? Engineering may have traditionally been viewed as a career where you go to university, complete a degree and then join a firm – but what if you aren’t ready to make such a stark choice when you leave school? EngTechs are crucial to the future success of engineering and our investment in EngTech will sustain a profession that has been a lifeblood of our country.

The EngTech route is there for those who have or are about to embark on a technician role or an apprenticeship.

While there are 1.5 million technicians and apprentices in the science and engineering professions, just 13,000 of them are registered EngTechs.

With the support of our launch partners – including BAE Systems, Corus, Diamond, SELEX-SAS, Ricardo, MBDA, AWE, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and the National Skills Academy and CEME – we will make a difference.

We are doing all that we can to support and encourage the industry to sustain this lifeblood. We must not let investment slide, or our standards drop. On the contrary, this is the time to increase our aspirations to meet the challenges of global competition.

EngTechs are crucial to the operation of many engineering facilities – without these people so much simply wouldn’t get done. They are trained and qualified to work safely and responsibly and to carry out a range of engineering functions, from testing to producing, operating and maintaining products, systems and equipment.

We are setting the agenda for engineering to be back up there on a world platform where it belongs. Some of our institution’s greatest presidents started their careers as apprentices – perhaps the next one is reading this right now.

I would like to congratulate all the companies that have helped us to make EngTech a reality and to show the next generation what can be achieved.

Ruth Spellman, chief executive, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

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