Energy & Environmental Management Focus on: Boilers, Burners & Controls 26 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk October/November 2024 A recent Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) survey reveals a significant skills gap in the engineering sector, particularly in the context of addressing climate change. While many UK employers are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact, there is widespread concern about the lack of necessary skills and training within the workforce. Etienne Fourie, Technical Sales Manager at Babcock Wanson, takes a closer look. Addressing the skills gap in the face of climate change Anew international survey1, published at the end of 2023, by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) confirms what the engineering sector has been saying for years: that a considerable skills gap exists which impacts productivity. What’s particularly interesting to note from this latest survey is that, in the face of climate change, that gap feels more like a chasm. According to the survey, two thirds of UK employers are concerned about climate change and most have made a technological or organisational change to lower their environmental impact in the last three years, primarily focussed on emissions reductions. However, around three-quarters think their organisation does not have the full skillset to be resilient against climate change, and 29% feel their organisation is not agile enough to adapt. Furthermore, they cite increased costs in their supply chain because of climate change which, ironically, is seen as a widespread barrier to becoming net zero. The findings of this survey is supported by the government’s November 2023 research briefing, ‘The UK's Plans and Progress to Reach Net Zero by 2050’. It states that the industrial sector was responsible for 14% of UK emissions in 2022, with the Climate Change Committee 2023 Progress Report considering there to be higher risks to decarbonisation than in 2022, with insufficient plans for the majority of the Carbon Delivery Budget Plan targets for the fifth and sixth carbon budgets due to a continuing lack of progress. UK Engineering employers surveyed by the IET largely put the blame for the skills gap on the education system. 63% think the UK education system does not prepare young people to work in their industry. However, the engineering sector also has a role to play here by providing appropriate training and quality apprenticeship schemes. To make these changes will take political willpower, time and investment. But time is one thing we are running short of when it comes to climate change and the UK’s 2050 Net Zero goal. We need to act now to decarbonise industry. With process heating being a major consumption of energy and source of emissions within industry, it’s an area that manufacturers and engineering firms across the UK – and the world – are focussing their decarbonisation efforts and resources on. Inefficient boilers and burners are being replaced with modern energy efficient heat raising equipment and systems that incorporate heat recovery, and we are seeing a big move towards electric powered systems, away from fossil fuel. But as we make these changes, the skills to operate and manage much of this equipment is in short supply as we have clearly seen. So, if the skills aren’t readily available, what options does industry have? The answer has to be to reduce or remove the skills required, which is where manufacturers such as Babcock Wanson have a role to play. We can’t solve the skills gap but we can engineer some of the skill out of day to day operation. Here we suggest four ways to help bridge the skills gap: 1 Thermal fluid heaters Increasingly popular, thermal fluid heaters work at high temperatures in a simple closed loop. When compared to a steam system this means no change of state of the fluid so no condensate and
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