The UK will need to hire more than one million new engineers in the next five years to keep up with demand, says the Royal Academy of Engineering. Achieving that goal would require nearly doubling the current number of annual engineering school graduates and apprentices.

However, the biggest challenge in this effort may be hiring more women engineers; the UK has the lowest proportion of women in engineering in Europe, according to the campaign group, Wise. Currently, less than 10% of the engineering workforce is female.

The announcement coincides with the National Women in Engineering Day on June 23.

The event is the brainchild of Dawn Bonfield, president of the Women’s Engineering Society, which recently celebrated its 95th anniversary. Bonfield says that there is not enough being done to appeal to girls to show them the opportunities that are available in engineering.