Impending skills gap increases demand in engineering graduates

UK job site, CV-Library, has revealed that the engineering sector is facing a bigger struggle than any other sector to recruit in the face of the impending skills gap as experienced engineers retire and universities struggle to maintain the uptake required to replace them.

The job board analysed the number of graduate jobs posted on its site during January 2016 and discovered 1,204 engineering jobs for graduates, more than any other sector.

Last week, EngineeringUK released its ‘The State of Engineering’ report that praised the strength and growth of the UK engineering sector but called for collaborative action across government, industry and education to double the number of GCSE physics students and to provide more advanced apprenticeships and better careers advice.

Echoing these concerns, founder and managing director of CV-Library, Lee Biggins said: “Engineering businesses can’t face this problem alone; it’s a much broader issue which requires further government intervention. More needs to be done in early education to entice our future generations into sectors such as engineering, otherwise the threat of skills shortages in years to come will quickly become a reality.”

According to the research, degrees in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Structural Engineering were the most sought after within engineering graduate positions. But, a growing number of graduate roles simply require graduates with a ‘2:1 degree’, without specifying a subject, suggesting more employers are taking the skills shortage into their own hands and training new recruits on the job.

However, CV-Library says it currently has more than 482,000 candidates seeking engineering work.