A new report from the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) highlights the urgent skills gaps and challenges facing the UK to develop the workforce required to deliver a successful circular economy, as well as setting out steps to address those challenges.

The report draws on insights from across industry, academia, education and training providers and policymakers, and calls for recognition of the fundamental role chemical and materials science and engineering play in realising the opportunities offered by greater circularity, including securing growth and building supply chain resilience.

Action needed 

The report highlights the need for long-term policy certainty and stability to support industry investment and individual career choices. It also calls for better awareness of job opportunities, stronger support for the skills pipeline by tackling barriers to education and increasing workforce diversity, an effective approach to regulation, planning and permitting, and greater alignment between government strategies.

Rachel Stonehouse, Head of Policy at IOM3, said: “This report is informed by a broad and diverse community across our disciplines. It brings together insight from a range of actors and different sectors and clearly demonstrates that delivering the workforce to drive the circular transition is a cross-economy priority and pressing risk facing the UK.

“Essential for the UK’s long-term economic and environmental resilience, the shift to a low-carbon, circular economy relies fundamentally on chemical and materials science and engineering. As professional bodies, we will continue to support our communities to lead the transition and to help build the partnerships needed to deliver the skilled, inclusive and adaptable circular economy workforce the UK urgently requires.”

Responses from survey and workshop participants suggest that core skills will remain important to the circular economy but will evolve over time, along with a greater emphasis on critical thinking, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary skills to accompany lifecycle analysis and systems thinking.

Worryingly, there are shortages in chemical process engineering, research and development, and metallurgical processes and techniques – all of which were identified as key sectors for a successful circular economy. In addition, important job roles such as chemical engineer, materials engineer, and environmental engineer/consultant are experiencing significant shortages.

“We are facing a serious skills gap when it comes to the circular economy. Industry is seeing deep challenges in sourcing these skills from local, UK-wide, and international markets,” said Duncan Lugton, Head of Policy & Impact at IChemE. “The scale of this challenge means that we need to be drawing on all the possible sources of talent to make sure we have the workforce needed for the circular economy and addressing the barriers getting in the way of these.”

Jobs and skills for a circular economy: a cross-sector perspective from the chemical and materials science and engineering communities is based on insights from two online workshops with 47 expert stakeholders across industry, academia, education and training providers and policymakers, and a survey with 54 participants. To read the full report, click here.

For more information: https://www.icheme.org

e-mail: membersupport@icheme.org

For more news, click here.