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