Engineering news
Engineering is “almost invisible to young people” because of inadequate careers education and guidance, the British engineering profession has warned.
Education for Engineering (E4E), a group made up of 39 UK engineering bodies, gave the warning just three weeks before the Big Bang science fair in London, which aims to educate and inspire young people about science and engineering.
E4E has issued a policy statement providing recommendations to government on how the careers system can be improved to ensure young people are fully informed about the breadth of engineering career opportunities available to them.
The body welcomed the proposal by John Hayes MP, minister of state for further education, skills and lifelong learning, for the formation of an all-age independent careers service in November, but warned that the government’s Education Bill removed schools’ duty to provide general careers education for young people. E4E said this could reduce the number of students being made aware of the opportunities engineering provides as a potential career.
Its policy statement makes five recommendations to government for improving the way careers education, advice and guidance is delivered and provided in schools and colleges, including: a statutory entitlement for young people in England to receive lessons in careers education as part of personal, social and health education; the need to demonstrate competence in the teaching of careers education as part of the professional standards for qualified teacher status; the use of real-life science and engineering examples in lessons with careers awareness embedded in the curriculum; improved access to local and national labour market information for schools and colleges and closer links with local employers; and specialist science, engineering and technology advisors in careers advisory agencies.
Dick Olver, chairman of BAE Systems and chair of E4E, said: “Young people often do not make the connection between the mobile phones they use or the computer game consoles they play on a daily basis and the engineers who created them.
“We need to better inform our children and young adults about the value of engineering and the exciting career opportunities an engineering background can afford. Better careers education in schools and an improved professional independent careers service, that advises young people of the many routes into engineering will improve this situation.
“We must make sure that young people are fully informed about the exciting opportunities afforded by a career in engineering so that we will be able to meet the growing needs of our industries as we continue to re-balance the economy.”