Graduate engineers needed, says report

Thousands more graduate engineers are needed to fill jobs in the industry, a new study has claimed.

According to the Engineering and Technology Board report, almost 600,000 new jobs need to be created in the sector over the next seven years and these jobs need to be filled by skilled engineers such as graduates or apprentices.

The report claimed that this influx would allow the UK to rebalance its economy using its strong manufacturing base. But "shortages of new engineers and of the further education lecturers to train them could seriously jeopardise this."

It went on to say that at the moment around 40,000 workers enter the engineering industry each year, however many of these lack the skills of highly trained graduate engineers.

The news could come as a boost to graduates looking to go into the engineering sector, especially as the report also revealed some other promising figures.

According to the report eight out of ten people would recommend an engineering job to their family and friends. Furthermore, engineering salaries have increased by 2.2 per cent this year, despite the shortfall of workers.

Earlier this year, it was reported that more graduates were applying for jobs in engineering. The study, by Atkins, said this was down to high salaries and the availability of jobs.