Our Schools should be encouraging Engineering Careers

24 Nov 11

Should our schools be nudging students toward engineering instead of science?

The most influential factor in choosing engineering as a career is “a talent for mathematics / science” according to a survey of over 300 engineers by Australia Wide Personnel, Australia’s leading engineering and technical recruitment firm. This was closely followed by “a long standing personal interest in “things technical” eg hobby electronics”.

Stephen Noble, Managing Director of Australia Wide Personnel said “From an employer perspective, engineering will continue to be a highly sought -after profession in Australia for the longer term. We need engineers; however our universities are producing scientists. In 2010 our universities produced 61% more domestic graduate scientists than engineers, however if you look on Seek today there are 10 times the number of engineering jobs listed across Australia compared with scientific roles. By and large, the engineering jobs are also better paid with far better career prospects”.

“More of the students in the 12-15 age bracket who show an aptitude for maths and science need to be exposed to what engineers do – unfortunately it’s one of those professions which goes under the radar to a fair degree and the general population do not have a great idea of what an engineer actually does and the variety of career streams available. Most students in this age bracket would have a fairly good understanding of what a doctor, an accountant, a scientist and a computer programmer does. Engineering hasn’t hit popular culture through the media, nor is it taught at school. Should we be opening up our minds to engineering being a mainstream elective which goes hand in hand with maths and science?

Perhaps the subject could have a very practical focus with activities such as basic CAD drawing, working with hobby electronics kits, regular site visits to a variety of engineering offices”.

About Australia Wide Personnel

Established in 1979, Australia Wide Personnel is a specialist engineering, manufacturing and technical recruitment firm. With offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the firm is one of the major recruiters of professional engineering staff in Australia.

For further information, contact Stephen Noble, Managing Director of Australia Wide Personnel on 03 9847 6500 or spn@australiawide.com.au
www.australiawide.com.au

You can also click here to visit Australia Wide Personnel's ManufactureLink Showcase