The Sikh Geek

I saw this article in my recent update magazine from the Institution of Enginnering & Technology. Apparently many UK companies don’t see engineering as a valuable resource or a viable route to becoming a board member. The figures for what professions make up boardrooms are :-

• HR, 91%
• Accountancy, 88%
• Law, 84%
• Marketing, 81%
• Sales, 75%

Compared to the following :-

• Manufacturing, 37%
• Civil Engineering, 1%

The reason cited for deeming engineers unsuitable was a lack of business/management qualifications. I think this is rather short sighted and with the performance of some companies maybe they would be better off being run by people with Engineering backgrounds. I’m certainly proud to be a Chartered Engineer and consider it to be equal to any of the other professions.