National Engineering Day looks ahead to the engineers of 2076
Academy campaign connects future possibilities with the skills young people need today
National Engineering Day, on 4 November, is looking fifty years ahead. The Royal Academy of Engineering's 2026 campaign uses imagined job advertisements for 2076 to show young people how engineering could shape life on Earth and in space.
Marking the Academy's 50th anniversary, the campaign explores future work in areas including food production, healthcare, housing and energy. Expert contributions have informed nine possible roles, intended to spark curiosity rather than advertise real vacancies.
The Academy has also sent Mission to Mars resource boxes to more than 200 UK schools, encouraging pupils to think differently about engineering. The initiative connects the possibilities of future technologies with the people and skills needed to develop them.
Why this matters for policymakers
- Skills pathways: Connect careers awareness with accessible technical, apprenticeship and university routes.
- Broad participation: Show young people a wider range of engineering roles and role models.
- Long-term capacity: Link ambitions for future industries with education and skills development today.
Sources: Royal Academy of Engineering: National Engineering Day 2026; Explore the National Engineering Day campaign.
Image: This is Engineering, via Unsplash. Illustrative photograph of engineering work, not a photograph of a National Engineering Day 2026 event Unsplash License.