New research has highlighted the scale of demand for sustainability-related engineering skills across the UK, with specialist roles accounting for a significant proportion of engineering vacancies in several locations.
Analysis by precision component supplier Accu identified 417 sustainability engineering roles in Bristol, the highest number outside London.
Manchester followed with 396 roles, while Birmingham recorded 324. London topped the overall ranking with 1,157 sustainability engineering vacancies.
In Bristol, sustainability-related positions accounted for 17.02% of the city’s 2,450 engineering jobs and 3.01% of all jobs identified in the research.
The city also recorded an estimated median sustainability engineering salary of £49,438, compared with £39,498 across all jobs and £47,654 for engineering roles generally.
This represents a 25.2% premium over Bristol’s overall median salary and a 3.7% increase compared with the city’s median engineering salary.
Elsewhere, the research showed particularly high concentrations of sustainability engineering roles within local engineering workforces.
Epsom recorded the highest proportion at 29.90%, followed by Stockport at 24.43% and Chesterfield at 23.29%. Warrington stood at 22.35%.
Salary premiums were also evident in a number of locations. Stockport recorded the largest difference between sustainability engineering salaries and the overall local median at 56.4%, followed by Brighton at 53.2% and St Albans at 51.0%.
Alastair Morris, Managing Director at Accu, said:
“Sustainability is becoming increasingly important across almost every area of engineering, from manufacturing and construction through to energy, transport and product development.
“What is particularly interesting is the salary premium attached to these roles. Businesses are clearly placing a high value on engineers who can combine technical expertise with an understanding of sustainability.
“As the UK continues to invest in the transition towards a more sustainable economy, we expect demand for engineers with these skills to continue growing.”
For the construction equipment sector, the findings provide a useful indication of the increasing importance being placed on sustainability-related engineering expertise as businesses address decarbonisation, alternative technologies and changing technical requirements.
The research was based on UK job advertisements collected from Indeed using Reboot’s in-house jobs database. Sustainability engineering roles were identified by filtering engineering vacancies for relevant sustainability-related job titles and terminology, with median salary estimates calculated from advertised salary data.
