The Global State of Engineering
Building the engineering workforce our future needs.
The Global State of Engineering (GSoE) is a collaborative effort to understand whether the world has the engineering capacity and capability needed to deliver sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure.
The challenge is urgent.
We need the right engineering skills, in the right places, to meet growing infrastructure needs. But a consistent global evidence base does not yet exist.
Why this matters
Infrastructure ambitions depend on people.
Building sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure for the 21st century requires a clear understanding of the critical gaps in the engineering workforce.
Infrastructure development is accelerating rapidly, but workforce development is still not a policy or funding priority, putting critical infrastructure and communities at risk.
How many engineers will it take to address our complex infrastructure needs?
What skills must they have?
And where in the world do we need them?
75%
of the infrastructure needed by 2050 is yet to be built
We do not yet know the full extent of the workforce gap, or exactly how to close it.
But we need to find out.
The Global State of Engineering will create the evidence, tools and advocacy needed to act.
Our Approach
How can we bridge the gap?
The initiative will turn fragmented information into a shared evidence base, practical tools and locally relevant action.
Build an evidence base for action
Establish where engineers are most needed, which skills are in demand and whether the right standards and training are in place.
Look forward
Identify future trends for the development of the world’s engineering workforce, including how standards can support practice.
Assess, baseline and benchmark
Measure engineering capacity and capability and track progress across the profession.
Enact change
Inform strategic policy development and guide targeted investment in education and training.
What we’ll deliver
Turning global evidence into practical action.
Governments, industry, academia, professional institutions and funders each hold part of the solution.
Together, the coalition will develop:
A Global Methodology for baselining, benchmarking, and monitoring engineering capacity and capability
A Toolkit to enable practical implementation.
Locally-led, country-level pilots to develop targeted workforce development plans.
And ultimately, equip engineers to deliver the critical infrastructure needed for a sustainable and resilient future that is fit for people and planet.
Join us today
It takes a coalition to transform a workforce.
No single organisation can map the workforce gap alone, let alone close it. The GSoE is built as a coalition precisely for that reason. The organisations that come in now will help shape the framework, the evidence base, and the global agenda.
Whatever your contribution, there is a meaningful and active role for you here.
Explore resources from ICSI & beyond
We're already building the evidence.
Royal Academy of Engineering: Global Engineering Capability Review
Using a systems approach, the Global Engineering Capability Review provides a new framework to understand and assess engineering capacity globally.
Global Responsibility Competency Compass
This tool from Engineers Without Borders UK demonstrates what globally responsible engineering looks like. Users can discover the 12 knowledge, skills and mindset competencies that enable engineers to create a safe and just future.
Reimagined Degree Map
This tool from Engineers Without Borders UK supports engineering departments to navigate the decisions that are urgently required to prepare students for 21st-century challenges.
The Engineering for One Planet (EOP) Framework
Launched by The Lemelson Foundation and VentureWell, EOP works to embed sustainability and climate literacy in engineering education to prepare the next generation to practice engineering that prioritises people and the planet.
Build4Skills Toolkit
Based on learnings from GIZ, this Toolkit presents a Delivery Framework based on four sequenced components to design and deliver a Build4Skills project. It offers guidance on how Build4Skills can be applied in construction projects and provides an outlook on how the approach can be further developed.
It takes a decade to build an engineer.
The time to act is now.
