The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Civil Engineers and a list of 33 other engineering organisations have banded together after the results of the Brexit Referendum. The super-group of engineering industries want to collectively pressure the British government into making a good deal with the EU, for the engineering sector. As Britain leaves the European Union, all of the warnings that were issued before June 23rd need to be double checked to measure what kind of damage engineering sectors will experience as a result of the exit.
Nigel Fine, Chief Executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology said: “This is a period of huge change and uncertainty so it’s imperative that we work together to ensure the best outcomes for UK engineering, which is so important to a vibrant and successful economy. We will do everything we can to ensure the interests of engineers and UK engineering are represented as strongly as possible.”
Negotiations need to be held to ensure that engineering industries are protected under the ‘severance package’ Britain might get once they fully leave the EU. According to Engineering & Technology, the group represents 450,000 engineers and will continue to collaborate to ensure that British engineering remains an influential force in the world.
Together, the industries represented make up 27% of the United Kingdom’s GDP. The group has noticed that the uncertainty caused by the ‘leave’ vote has already swayed investors opinions. Notably, Siemens immediately suspended UK wind power plans once the results of the referendum were unveiled.
Head of External Communications at Siemens, Anne Keogh, said: “Siemens has always made it clear that this was a decision for the British people and their view must be respected. As a global business with significant, long-term investments in the UK and high local value creation, Siemens is not so much exposed to negative effects that we might see. Nevertheless, the government must now move swiftly to unify and agree the nature of the UK’s relationship with the EU and other trading partners, creating clear roadmaps to encourage future investment.”
Engineers are saying they have never been in a situation that requires so much “strategic collaboration” between engineering industries. Unfortunately, uncertainty was unavoidable with a ‘leave’ vote. The super-group will now measure how powerful the vote is, in terms of how damaging it might be to the engineering sector.
“We are rising to this challenge and pooling our resources to provide government with the best advice and access to our networks to inform its planning and leadership role. We are building a new, proactive framework for making engineering advice available to government on these critical matters for now and for the duration of the change process,” said Phillip Greenish, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
