Can science and IT graduates find relevant jobs?

The lack of skilled young people taking on science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) careers could be down to a lack of job opportunities.

New research suggests that it is the UK's poor jobs market that is really letting skilled young people down and not just the small numbers of people studying Stem-related degrees at university.

According to a study by Birmingham University titled 'Is there a shortage of scientists?', nearly a quarter of engineering graduates are working in unskilled jobs.

Moreover, 20 per cent of students enter graduate jobs that are not related to their degree.

Analysing figures from the Higher Education Statistical Agency, the report's author Professor Emma Smith found that fewer than half (46.4 per cent) of IT, engineering and science graduates in 2009 were actually working in fields related to their course.

This is only fractionally higher for physics and chemistry graduates, 55 per cent of whom were working in these industries within six months of qualifying.

"The figures suggest it is not easy or automatic for qualified engineers to get related employment in the UK, despite the purported shortages," Professor Smith said.

Indeed, it has been widely reported by businesses, organisations and the government that there are not enough skilled workers in Stem industries.

The report highlighted a 2008 survey from the Confederation of British Industry which revealed that 42 per cent of businesses believed candidates applying for jobs did not have the appropriate skills and that there was a particular shortage of women with IT skills.

"Perhaps, because of recent initiatives, there seem to be too many people studying science for the labour market to cope with, or perhaps graduates are no longer of sufficient quality," Professor Smith suggested, claiming there are not enough jobs for them and even stating that some people are dropping out of the industry from lack of interest on their part.

Her findings have been presented to the British Educational Research Association's annual conference and address other issues such as why there is still a lack of women studying Stem degrees and why the industry is still the preserve of the white middle class.

However, what could answer some questions is a new report by the Science Council, which has uncovered a significant number of scientists who are working in other industries but are still using the skills they learned during their course.

It claims there are 5.8 million people employed in science-based roles in the UK, of which 4.6 million are classified as 'secondary' science workers who are employed in other industries such as IT, education and health.

The report also claims that by 2030, the UK will employ 7.1 million people in science jobs, suggesting that as the country moves to a low carbon economy, the situation raised by Professor Smith may change.

Source: Womenintechnology.co.uk, Monday 12th September 2011

Employers shift graduate recruitment focus to school leavers

Employers are increasingly targeting school leavers as part of their graduate recruitment strategy, but they must be sure of the business case for doing so, panellists agreed at the Association of Graduate Recruiters conference yesterday.

Anne-Marie Martin, president of AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Career Advisory Services, told the event in Wales that employers should think carefully before embarking on school-leaver programmes.
“I would want to be confident about whether it’s good for the business,” she said. “In an age when we realised that we cannot afford higher education and we cannot afford to fund from the public purse, organisations need to make sure they are entering school leavers’ programmes for business reasons.”

Martin said it was ‘interesting’ that employers were returning to the idea of getting hold of people before they come to university, despite participation rates at university being at 50 percent.

“School leavers are different from graduates and they think differently, and I fear if you don’t recruit a sufficient number of graduates, then you’ll lose a lot of creativity that will take your firm into the next century,” she told delegates.

Sonja Stockton, head of graduate recruitment for PricewaterhouseCoopers, agreed that recruiters had to make a valid business case for all the alternative routes to employment, including school leavers’ programmes.

“Apprenticeships have been around for many years and increasingly people can see that you can take it as a school leaver route and progress through to University through sponsorship,” she said. “Many organisations use it as a strong progression route.”

PwC has a long track record in employing A-level students through its ‘HEADstart’ programme, which accepted 90 A-level students this year, up by a third from the previous year.

The debate on the recent trend for employers to embark on school leavers’ programmes comes during a turbulent time for higher education. The government’s move, following the Browne Review, to allow universities to charge up to £9000 a year in tuition fees has led to fears that young people will be put off going to university to study vital subjects such as science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills.

James Kewin, managing director of CFE, research partner for the AGR, told the conference that in a market system, some students might be put off studying courses like STEM that cost more to each. “If employers in some sectors want more STEM graduates, you cannot guarantee that graduates will actually end up in these sectors. Research commissioned by the government shows that a significant proportion of STEM graduates go into non-STEM jobs.”

Source: Karen Higginbottom, Peoplemanagement.co.uk, Wednesday 6th July 2011