Like most industrial sector executives, engineering leaders face a bevy of challenges in 2022. From continued disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants, to the inflationary environment, to unrest and scarcity within the labor force, executives have their work cut out for them in the year ahead. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to have visionary leadership in the c-suite. There are several critical challenges facing engineering executives in the year ahead. Here’s a look at the biggest headwinds, and what engineering leaders need to do to overcome them.

1. The growing skills gap

The intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and the scarcity of skilled labor has resulted in a skills gap that continues to widen. The demand for engineering talent is at an all-time high, especially with the advent of new products, services and business models that are disrupting traditional sectors. Executives must be able to attract top talent, and also develop a bench of talent that can take on leadership roles as the need arises.

The shortage of engineers will become even more acute in 2022. For that reason, engineering executives must place a priority on recruiting and developing young talent when they join the organization. And, when management identifies talented employees better-suited for other functional roles across the enterprise, it’s critical for leaders to make strategic moves to ensure every member of the team maximizes their potential.

The 2020s are a decade when companies with top engineering talent will prevail, and having visionary leaders who are able to prospect, develop and retain talent will be critical to that success.

2. Automation and fast technologies

In 2022, there are many challenges facing engineering executives that are related to automation. Companies have grappled for years with how to best deploy automation, augmented reality and other technologies. The problem? It takes time and money to implement these solutions across the enterprise. And, if fielded too early without a strategy in place, they can become a drain on productivity and profitability.

For instance, many companies are slow to embrace technologies like robotics and augmented reality because they require more skills training and education (and legacy engineers may be resistant to learning new methods). For reasons like this, developing a comprehensive workforce training and technology adoption plan will be critical to successfully implementing automation. Done right, it’ll improve the productivity and effectiveness of engineers in 2022 and beyond.

3. Representation within the industry

The engineering industry has struggled to diversify its workforce since the dawn of the industrial era. Unfortunately, this is still true in 2022. Yet, despite increasing calls for diversity within the sector, it doesn’t appear as if much has changed over the last decade. Women and minorities lack representation, and there’s growing scrutiny to show inclusion.

Executives need to make a concerted effort to attract and retain talented female and minority engineers. That means recruiting from colleges with higher percentages of these populations and making the hiring process more inclusive, to allow more diverse, qualified candidates to get through the door. Executives should also be aware that women and minority candidates may have a higher-than-average attrition rate. They need to develop a retention strategy that ensures all members of the team feel valued and included—or risk losing key hires to competitors.

Ultimately, for engineering executives to succeed in truly diversifying, they must implement HR policies that attract and retain employees from a diverse cross section of the labor force. This means not only having a “diverse slate” at hiring time, it also means implementing an inclusive culture that values, respects and enables all workers.

4. Supply chain disruptions

Forward-thinking engineering executives need to be acutely aware of the supply chain disruptions that may affect their company. In 2022, it’s likely to become even more difficult to source key products and materials. This will have a ripple effect on downstream engineering functions—from design through delivery of final goods.

For instance, it’s critical for engineering leaders to have a solid understanding of their company’s supply chain and which suppliers have the highest risk of disruptions. They then need to implement plans for mitigating those risks, including reviewing contingency plans in case a supplier fails to deliver. This is especially critical for companies where supply chain disruptions are mission-critical to engineering operations.

For instance, companies in the defense industry need to account for this during R&D and long-term product development activities. The ability to hold, pivot or change course entirely during the engineering phase of a project will become an asset in 2022 if supply chain woes persist (or grow worse).

5. Staffing and labor constraints

In 2022, there won’t be a “labor problem.” There will be a talent shortage. Engineers are in high demand right now. For the past several years, due to a lack of available talent, companies have had to pay higher salaries and offer more generous benefits packages to attract top engineering talent. This trend will only continue in 2022.

The talent pool has shrunk while the bar for qualified skills has risen. As a result, capable engineers have become a scarce commodity. Engineering executives need to brace for a higher cost of hiring in the coming year, driven by the cost of locating and vetting talent.

Because competition for skilled engineers is likely to remain high, executives must place a renewed focus on company culture. In-house upskilling and training will help bridge the skills gap, and they widen the talent pool to include those motivated to learn, albeit not outright qualified for more advanced positions. Internships and externships are other key opportunities that allow executives to bypass the hiring pool altogether, to draft and develop talent.

Brace for headwinds; prepare for success

If engineering executives can meet these challenges, they’ll position themselves and their companies for success in 2022. These aren’t simple obstacles to solve, and they’ll require fundamental restructuring of legacy processes within the company. With any luck, 2022 will finally be the year history refers to as “post-pandemic;” however, it’ll assuredly be a year of transformative change for manufacturing and engineering.

Thank you very much for being here – we appreciate you taking the time to read our content. So, what are your thoughts on the top 5 challenges facing engineering executives in 2022? Which will be the most challenging in your opinion? MEHQ would love to hear from you in the comments below! And sign up to our newsletter for more of the same content!

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