Advanced Engineering Exhibition 2026

The UK Sourcing Hub for People and Skills Solutions

The People and Skills track at Advanced Engineering focuses on how engineering and manufacturing teams close the technical skills gap through apprenticeships, team upskilling, knowledge transfer, and learning and development. The track aims to help employers strengthen workforce capability, improve engineering retention and support early career engineers.

Leading suppliers
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Engineering professionals
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Industry-leading speakers
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People Skills

Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Machinery

R&D and Design Engineering

Clean Energy and Net Zero

AI, Digitalisation and Automation

Government, Regional hubs and Supply Chain

What does this track cover on skills gaps in engineering?

What organisations are trying

  • Apprenticeships, in-house academies and on-the-job learning
  • Upskilling existing teams
  • Knowledge transfer: capturing expertise before it walks out the door

Retention and attraction experiments

  • What employers are trying to keep engineers and technicians
  • Making engineering careers attractive to young people and career changers
  • Creating new roles internally instead of trying to hire externally

Skills Junction Zone

  • Dedicated area with CPD-accredited sessions and networking meetups
  • Talk to managers and L&D leads implementing solutions and learning as they go - not consultants selling perfect answers

Team upskilling

  • Bring your team for shared knowledge and faster action when you return
  • Stay current on AI, digitalisation, manufacturing, design, clean energy and materials without costly external training

Who joins the People and Skills track to solve workforce capability?

  • Management Engineering and operations managers who can't find or keep people
  • Talent Leaders HR, L&D and talent leaders looking for practical ideas, not perfect solutions
  • Chief engineers Chief engineers dealing with knowledge transfer and capability gaps
  • Chartered engineers Chartered engineers and those on the path to chartership (CPD-accredited content)
  • Workforce Development & Training Leaders Organisations wanting to bring teams for cost-effective upskilling

Free entry. 400+ exhibitors, 6 CPD forums, live demos and networking lounges — all in one venue.

Attended by the UK’s top engineering professionals tackling skills gaps, retention and workforce development

Why explore a track on the technical skills gap in the industry?

  • For your team Strengthening technical skills
  • Align team perspective and expertise
  • Fuel collaboration and problem-solving
  • Tackle complex challenges
  • For you Stay ahead of trends and technologies
  • Gain practical insights you can apply to your projects
  • Build meaningful connections
  • Invest in your professional development
  • Obtain accredited CPD points
  • For your organisation Accelerate Innovation
  • Anticipate Industrial ships
  • Access cross-industrial solutions
  • Build partnerships

Free entry. 400+ exhibitors, 6 CPD forums, live demos and networking lounges – all in one venue.

John Frank

Developer

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John Frank

Developer

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John Frank

Developer

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How can I strengthen the engineering talent pipeline by attending?

  • Skills Junction Zone sessions Discuss what others are trying: recruitment, retention, upskilling, apprenticeship design. Dedicated sessions connecting female engineers and technical leaders across sectors, Student and early-career support
  • Networking Manager meetups, early-career sessions, CV reviews, "ask a chief engineer" drop-ins.
  • Team attendance When teams attend together, you return with aligned ideas and momentum to act.

Explore the UK’s leading companies supporting engineering skills and workforce development

The Skills Junction

Bridging the UK’s manufacturing skills gap

The Skills Junction is a dedicated zone at Advanced Engineering, designed to help bridge the skills gap in engineering and manufacturing.

By bringing together businesses, educational institutions, associations and government stakeholders, the Skills Junction raises awareness, shares best practice and fosters collaboration to develop the skilled workforce needed to drive the UK’s manufacturing and engineering sector forward.

Register to be the first to get the show updated

What visitors say

Skills shortage is around every conversation. Visitors tell us it is now the single biggest barrier to delivering programmes.

They say:

Common questions

How does attending a workforce development engineering event help organisations address retention and build a stronger engineering talent pipeline?

A workforce development event engineering brings together employers, educators, and practitioners to share practical approaches to retention and talent development. You can explore strategies around apprenticeships, reskilling, and early career pathways, helping organisations build a more resilient engineering talent pipeline.

A CPD accredited engineering event in the UK allows engineers and managers to log structured learning hours across multiple topics in a single day. At Advanced Engineering, the Skills Junction forum covers engineering skills, leadership, and technical upskilling, giving teams a time-efficient way to meet chartership CPD requirements.

The People and Skills track at Advanced Engineering is one of the few engineering skills events in the UK where apprenticeships, reskilling, and early career development are addressed together, alongside workforce strategy and operational skills challenges relevant to manufacturing leaders.

An engineering event gives HR and L&D leaders cross-sector insight into workforce capability, knowledge transfer, and operational skills. The People and Skills track at Advanced Engineering covers these areas through forum sessions, case studies, and direct access to training providers and industry specialists.

The People and Skills track at Advanced Engineering covers engineering recruitment, retention, and the technical skills gap across multiple sectors. Visitors can find relevant sessions and speakers by exploring the forum programme and event content on the Advanced Engineering website at advancedengineeringuk.com.

You can register for the People and Skills event track in the UK by using the registration or visit pages on the Advanced Engineering website. To plan your visit, check event dates, venue details, travel information, opening times and the exhibitor or programme listings for the relevant track content.

Yes, many exhibitors bring technical specialists and engineers who can discuss real-world challenges and applications.

Yes, and this is highly encouraged. Many teams attend as a group from design, manufacturing, quality, procurement and R&D so they can explore different areas of the show.

Yes. Several sessions and solution providers focus on reliability engineering, maintainability, serviceability and designing for the full product lifecycle.

Yes, The Net Zero track will cover suppliers, solutions and conference sessions on topics such as lightweight structures, materials selection and circular design. Following this track, you can discover materials and methods that will help you meet sustainability targets without compromising performance.

Yes, Advanced Engineering’s unmatched value is the opportunity to get hands-on with real technologies. Many exhibitors bring working prototypes, demos and test set-ups so you can see systems and machinery running in real conditions.

Yes, once you are registered, you will have access to the Industrial Connect app, where you will see the list of suppliers and products

When and where is the People and Skills event track happening?

Ready to attend? Your ticket is free.

NEC Birmingham · 4–5 November 2026 · Free entry to visit