A recent report has found that only 46% of engineering graduates are managing to find work in this field, with almost a quarter performing ‘non-graduate’ roles such as shop work and waiting tables.
The research from Birmingham University states that it is “not easy or automatic” for qualified engineers to find related employment in the UK. The findings of the report will come as a surprise to many, as the industry has repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of good quality science and engineering graduates.
However it has been argued that the shortage of graduates employed is a result of the lack of practical workplace experience and employability skills they posses. Graduates now need to do more to develop business skills like team-working and self-management in order to have the best possible chance of finding a job. Therefore UK organisations need to do more to help them by offering more placements to undergraduates to help them gain valuable hands on experience and gain a deeper understanding of the industry. Engineering business could also link with universities to provide employment initiatives to students where they are taught, through a serious of workshops, team building and communication skills that would help them in future employment.
A number of schemes have already been launched (such as EDT, the largest provider of STEM enrichment activities for UK youth) to actively encourage students to take up the subject, as well related fields, like maths and the sciences at an earlier stage of their education to tackle this problem. Here at CBSbutler we support the annual SATRO Science and Engineering Festival, a charity aimed at increasing the number of pupils taking up STEM subjects at GCSE and A-Levels, and then going on to choose a career in this field.
It’s a start. But there’s still a long way to go, so what more can we be doing to help our graduates? Let us know what you think.
