Commercial awareness: the future wealth of the UK-in the hands of young engineers

UK industry is steeped in tradition and has been responsible for many of the most significant feats of engineering over the years. But in today´s environment, more than ever before, engineering skill alone is not sufficient to create a ´world class´ industry. The country relies too heavily on the service sector for its wealth. Industry has been the poorer relation in recent times, suffering from a lack of investment and commercial acumen, and as a result jobs have been lost, with significant social effect on communities throughout the UK. It is important that engineers recognise this and that young engineers, in particular, acquire the commercial skills which will provide the opportunity for industry to improve and expand to develop an environment where jobs can be created and sustained. These issues are explored further in this article.