The latest graduate destination data demonstrates that the labour market for engineering graduates is enjoying a vigorous recovery, despite being one of the sectors worst hit by the recession.
Six months after leaving university, engineering graduates enjoyed higher than average employment rates and the vast majority were in professional-level jobs, fuelled by recovery in the civil engineering and construction markets.
Prospects’ annual What do graduates do? research published in partnership with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), reveals the destinations of 267,735 full- and part-time first degree graduates in January 2015. A total of 8,420 had studied engineering.
Civil engineer graduates had an unemployment rate of 5.3%, well below the average of 6.3%. The employment rate of 81.6% was higher than graduates as a whole (76.6%) and a significant majority (73.5%) of those in work were in professional level jobs related to their degree.
Prospects for mechanical engineering, and electrical and electronic engineering graduates were also rosy with higher than average employment rates at 78.6% and 77.2% respectively with the vast majority working in professional jobs.
In 2010, 69.4% of engineering graduates were in work after six months, and 10.3% unemployed.
Charlie Ball, head of higher education intelligence at Prospects said: “This cohort started university mid-recession, when the outlook for graduates was the worst it had been for a generation. They worked hard, they made themselves employable and they have been rewarded.
“An improved market for engineering graduates has led to some employers experiencing significant skills shortages in niches such as rail engineering and aerospace.
“This doesn’t mean that new graduates can just walk into a job. They will still have to work hard to get where they want. They can get excellent support from their university – careers services have also worked hard during the recession and these improved graduate outcomes are also a testament to the quality of the advice and guidance offered to students.”
Eluned Jones, AGCAS President and Director of Student Employability at the University of Birmingham, said: “It’s encouraging to see this continued rise in graduate employability and we especially welcome the strong outcomes in students gaining graduate-level employment. This demonstrates the commitment of everyone working towards the employability agenda in universities, including careers services, students, academics, professional services and employers – all of whom play a vital part in this journey”
