When it comes to boosting UK productivity, the engineering sector is in a very strong position. In 2014, engineering generated £455.6 billion GDP for the UK. It employed 5,529,000 people (two thirds of whom are practising engineers and technicians)and supported 14.5 million jobs in the UK. It is 68% more productive than the retail and wholesale sector. Every time a new job is created in engineering, two more jobs are created elsewhere in the UK. If engineering can meet the forecasted demand for new vacancies, it would generate an additional £27 billion GDP per year: the equivalent of building 1,800 new secondary schools or 110 new hospitals. In short, a rebalanced economy built on a growing engineering base will be a more productive economy.
