Could baking and Bake Off help solve engineering’s workforce crisis?

Welcome to a Cosmos Insights podcast, where we talk to scientists in Australia about the impact of their work.

Australia is facing its greatest ever engineering skills shortage, according to Engineers Australia.

The clean energy transition, major infrastructure projects and emerging sectors like space are increasing demand for engineering skills. Some 50,000 to 100,000 engineers are needed by 2030, just as fewer students, particularly girls, are choosing to enter the profession. 

Ok it may sound nutty, but could baking, and engineering contestants on shows like Bake Off and Baking Impossible, be key ingredients in helping solve the workforce crisis by improving awareness and perceptions of engineering, and broadening engagement with STEM.

Today, Cosmos journalist  Petra Stock talks to engineer, Great British Bake Off winner and now cookbook author Giuseppe Dell’Anno, and Jane MacMaster, Chief Engineer at Engineers Australia.

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