Engineering graduates are in high demand in the UK as less than half of those who matriculate go on to work in the sector, data published by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) claims.
Turning away from engineering
The report analysed over 10,000 engineering students who graduated from 90 different universities across Britain in 2012 with 87.4% of respondents being male and 12.6% female.
It found that two thirds of the graduates (66.3%) had secured full-time employment within the first six months of graduating while a further 12.5% went on to enjoy further full-time study options.
Another 12.8% were involved in part-time study, part-time work or spending their time travelling with only 8.4% classing themselves as unemployed.
Unfortunately, of the engineering graduates who went on to full-time work, just 38.8% had taken up positions as professional engineers within six months of leaving their university education.
Most attractive engineering careers
Rhys Morgan, Director of Engineering and Education at RAEng, said that many graduates may be turning away from a career within the engineering sector due to the lack of visibility of employers on campus.
After graduation, many students find themselves being attracted to the vast amount of offers from finance and retail sectors which could deter them from entering into the sector, he added.
Mr Morgan notes that the engineering sector needs to work harder to show students the number of exciting career opportunities there are on offer to them if they continue into the industry.
However, with figures from Chemical Engineering highlighting that 80% of graduates continues into full-time engineering roles, there is some comfort to be had.
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