Teens ignore careers in engineering

Engineering features outside the top 10 career choices among 14 and 15-year-olds, ranking behind hotel management. The top three are: lawyer, teacher and professional sportsperson.

The results come from a study by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Its STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) research project coincided with the launch of Faraday, the IET’s flagship STEM education programme for every secondary school pupil in the UK.

Jan Stapleton, IET head of education 5-19, said: “I really expected the results to show young people had an increasingly positive view towards STEM subjects and the careers they can lead to.

“However, the first wave of results has shown that this is simply not the case, despite the many activities and initiatives in this area in recent years.

“This is one of key issues highlighted in the recent Sainsbury review into the UK science and innovation system.”

She continued: “There is no magic solution to this problem; we must look at all our activities and initiatives to see if they are really making an impact with our pupils.

“Engineering brings wealth creation to the economy, and it is imperative the UK attracts more young people into engineering and technology to tackle the growing skills shortage.”

More than 700 pupils in years nine and 10 from a selection of schools in England were surveyed, and focus groups were held with pupils, teachers and educationalists.

The primary objective of this research was to assess each group’s needs and requirements to help improve uptake. This research is the beginning of a longitudinal study that will track the same cohort of pupils.