Could generative AI help to fill the skills gap in engineering?

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It has been two years since OpenAI ’s generative AI (GenAI) tool ChatGPT was launched, and with many rivals emerging on the market since, GenAI technology is beginning to be deployed in many industries, including the engineering sector, but concerns remain as to its viability and appropriateness.

The engineering sector accounts for nearly a fifth of the UK’s total workforce and in 2022 generated £646bn for the UK economy. Engineering is experiencing a surge following a slump during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

But there are concerns that the number of experienced engineers taking early retirement could lead to critical skills being lost. Larger engineering companies, such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, are using skills academies to train new staff and the government is promoting apprenticeships.

However, some companies are considering using artificial intelligence (AI) to help bridge the skills shortage by enabling experienced engineers to use their time more effectively.

During the summer of 2024, Professional Engineering , the magazine of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), conducted a survey on the use and challenges of AI within the sector.

Naturally, given the IMechE’s focus on mechanical engineering, it concentrated on that specific discipline, but its report on the findings offers insight into the engineering sector as a whole.

Although fewer than hoped for, 125 members of the IMechE responded to the survey. Over 40% of respondents said the companies they worked for were using AI tools, with over 20% indicating they were planning to do so.

One of the reasons for the comparatively swift deployment of generative AI in the past two years is that some of the tools are relatively easy to access and do not require specialist hardware. For example, all that is needed to access ChatGPT is an internet browser.

“There’s a huge opportunity to utilise this technology in engineering, but it also comes with some considerable risks,” says Alan King, head of global membership development strategy at the IMechE.

“There will need to be safeguards put in place, because the potential for things to go wrong is magnified in a profession like engineering.”

Engineering is well-regulated, with various rules, standards and regulations that need to be followed. These include government legislation, guidance documents published by the Health and Safety … Read More