Rolls-Royce on developing the next generation of engineering talent

As a Platinum Partner of the Enginuity Skills Awards 2026, Rolls-Royce joined us in celebrating the apprentices, learners, employers, educators and sector champions helping to shape the future of UK engineering and manufacturing.

Following the awards, Rolls-Royce shared why supporting the awards matters, the skills challenges facing the sector, and how the organisation is developing the talent needed for the future.

Supporting the next generation of engineers

For Rolls-Royce, partnering with the Enginuity Skills Awards reflects a shared commitment to closing the skills gap and inspiring future engineering talent.

"Rolls-Royce is fully aligned with Enginuity's vision and mission to close the skills gap across UK engineering and manufacturing. Attracting and developing new and diverse talent has never been more important, both to our own success and to the strength of the wider sector, as we compete for skills in local and global talent marketplaces.

"The Enginuity Skills Awards celebrate excellence in talent development, from individual apprentice and student achievements through to the innovative programmes building tomorrow's talent pipeline. Supporting them is a natural fit for Rolls-Royce and our commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers."

Meeting today's challenges while preparing for tomorrow

Rolls-Royce believes the sector must preserve essential engineering skills while investing in the capabilities that will shape the future of manufacturing.

"Our focus spans two key areas. First, safeguarding critical traditional skills, such as welding and non-destructive evaluation (NDE), where developing people to the right standard, at the pace industry demands, remains a real challenge.

"Second, building the future skills that will transform the manufacturing workplace: composites, additive manufacturing, and digital manufacturing. Meeting both challenges at once is essential to keeping the UK's engineering and manufacturing sector competitive on the world stage."

Why recognition matters

Rolls-Royce believes recognising apprentices, learners, employers, training providers and sector champions plays a vital role in inspiring future generations.

"As we heard at the Awards, 'you can't be what you can't see.' Showing people from all backgrounds what is possible and what they could achieve is one of the most powerful ways to build a stronger talent pipeline at every level. Recognition matters: it celebrates those who have gone above and beyond, creating stories that we can share that resonate across the whole community, and it inspires the next wave of apprentices, learners and employers to aim higher. Every winner and finalist becomes a role model someone else can follow."

Inspiration comes in many forms

Reflecting on the awards evening, Rolls-Royce highlighted the diversity of the people recognised and the many different ways organisations are inspiring young people to explore STEM.

"Two areas stood out: the diversity of the people being recognised, and the sheer variety of ways they're making a difference. JJA Snack was a perfect example. Who would have thought that teaching young people to make chocolates could open a door into STEM? But it does, brilliantly. It's a reminder that inspiration doesn't always come from the obvious places, and that creativity in how we engage young people is just as important as the engineering itself."

Developing talent throughout every career

Rolls-Royce supports talent from school through to senior leadership, with initiatives designed to inspire young people, create accessible career pathways and encourage lifelong learning.

"We support talent at every stage of the journey. It starts early, with initiatives designed to open up engineering to young people from all backgrounds: Discover: On Demand, our free virtual work experience and careers platform, gives 14–18 year olds the chance to explore STEM and business careers, build future-ready skills and complete career tasters at their own pace, from anywhere.

"For those ready to go deeper, Discover: Behind the Scenes offers an immersive four-day, on-site experience at our UK locations, giving students a genuine look inside a global engineering business. From there, our apprenticeships at every level, graduate programmes and industrial placements provide structured routes into rewarding careers. Once people join us, a culture of continual learning ensures development never stops, at any level of the organisation."

Rolls-Royce also highlighted its Manufacturing Engineering Leadership Development Events as an example of its long-term investment in people.

"Created almost 20 years ago to strengthen the pipeline of talent into first-level management roles in Manufacturing Engineering, the programme has now seen more than 500 people come through. Its impact speaks for itself: our newly appointed Director of Manufacturing Engineering & Materials is an alumnus, as is my successor as Head of Manufacturing Engineering Capability & Technical Control. That's the real measure of a talent programme - not just the numbers who take part, but where those people go on to lead."

Building capability for the future

Looking ahead, Rolls-Royce believes the solution to future workforce challenges is a fundamental shift from filling vacancies to building capability.

"Our solution is a fundamental shift: from filling roles to building capability. Through our Emerging Talent strategy, we've embedded a potential-led, skills-based approach into our Enterprise Talent System supporting our Build-Buy-Borrow-Bot (BBBB) framework and five-year workforce supply plan. This ensures we attract and develop diverse talent matched to the capabilities we'll need, not just the vacancies we have today.

"We prioritise behaviours and learning agility over background, creating equitable pathways into Rolls-Royce through inclusive programmes like Switch and the Enterprise Skills Accelerator reaching school leavers, graduates, career-changers and those returning to work."

The impact of this approach can already be seen:

• 54% gender parity in graduate intake
• 34% UK ethnic diversity
• 19% low socio-economic representation
• 97% graduate retention

A message to the sector

Rolls-Royce's message to employers, educators and anyone considering a career in engineering and manufacturing is simple:

"There is no career more exciting than one in engineering and manufacturing, and few offer the same opportunity to make a real difference to the world. Don't believe the old stereotypes: modern advanced manufacturing is a completely different world, where digitally enabled systems, additive manufacturing, composites and data-driven technologies come together to produce extraordinary products.

"And this is only the beginning; the future skills we're building today will define how the world makes things tomorrow. Whatever your background, there's a place for you in that future. Come and join us."

As a Platinum Partner of the Enginuity Skills Awards 2026, Rolls-Royce continues to demonstrate how investing in people, championing inclusion and developing future capability can help strengthen the UK's engineering and manufacturing workforce for generations to come.

Find out more about Rolls-Royce Find out more about the Enginuity Skills Awards