I understand the workings of mechanical equipment and how to repair it.
i think i can class my self as a engineer/fabricator/welder/carpenter/fibre glass engineer ETC.
Whilst not wanting to denegrate your skills, and they certianly exceed mine in some areas, I think that the institute of mechanical engineers would disagree with you unless of course in addition to those skills you have a degree or have passed their exams.
Whilst the phrase “it shows what’s wrong with the UK…” contains unnecessary hyperbole, it is true to say that were you not in the UK but somewhere like North America or most of Europe, you would not be able to call yourself and engineer and would face legal sanction if you did.