Maintaining skills today, inspiring engineers for tomorrow

27.08.2025

At Hybrid Air Vehicles, we know that sustaining the future of aerospace requires more than new technologies, it requires a continuous focus on skills. The engineering challenges of tomorrow will be solved by those learning today, and our industry has a responsibility to help ensure those skills are nurtured, developed, and inspired from an early stage.

That’s why we’re proud to support a growing programme of STEM-focused outreach, designed to connect students with the possibilities of engineering and give them a real sense of how their interests can become a career. Our work with Doncaster University Technical College (DUTC) is a key part of that. As one of our long-term education partners, and located in the region where our production facility is planned, the UTC plays a central role in developing local talent, and our ongoing partnership helps strengthen those skills at a critical moment in students’ learning. This collaboration was recently recognised when our Head of Production, Ivor Pope, received an award for outstanding employer engagement, reflecting the strength of the partnership and the commitment of the HAV team.

As part of this programme, each year we work with Doncaster UTC to deliver a full-day helium balloon challenge for Year 12 students. The challenge is hands-on and engaging, asking students to design, build, and fly a small airship through an obstacle course. Along the way, they must calculate buoyancy, understand propulsion, and collaborate as a team, drawing on both theory and practical application. It’s a programme that continues to be shaped by close employer involvement, including Ivor and his team’s work on the UTC’s Employer Advisory Committee and mentoring initiatives. It’s a realistic introduction to the kind of critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving we see every day at HAV.

This isn't just a one-off event, it’s part of a broader commitment to maintaining and growing the skill base our industry relies on. As Doncaster UTC has said:

Because the reality is, the aerospace industry is evolving rapidly, and we’ll need not just more engineers, but engineers who are ready to think differently. At the same time, the UK continues to face a well-documented engineering skills gap, with around 124,000 new engineers and technicians needed each year, but an annual shortfall of 37,000–59,000. Thousands more STEM roles emerging each year than there are qualified candidates to fill them. Without real-world experiences, students risk missing out, and so does the industry.

That’s why this work matters. By investing in early, hands-on opportunities for young people to explore engineering, we’re not only helping prepare future recruits, we’re helping shape a workforce ready to meet the challenges of net zero, sustainable growth, and long-term innovation.

If we want future aircraft to be radically different, the way we inspire future engineers has to be different too.