There’s a hot topic buzzing around the net today. Everyone’s talking about the engineering industry, and – more specifically – how the industry is basically completely male dominated.
IET (Photo credit: Charles Mok)
New industry figures have shown that in terms of new engineering jobs being taken this year, only 6% of those jobs have actually been taken by women. Furthermore, this is totally unchanged from last year, and the amount of engineering jobs given to women has only risen by 1% since 2008!
The study, which was carried out by the IET has also found that employers are also struggling to locate engineers with the correct skills. The general feeling within the industry seems to be that a lot of jobs are being created, but there isn’t a huge amount of people who fit the criteria organisations are looking for.
It appears women are somewhat still put off by the engineering industry; while it is starting to open up more, many women still appear to see the industry as a male-centric environment. Nigel Fine, who is chief of the IET, thinks that this is a problem that needs to be addressed.
“We have a real opportunity to attract more women into engineering,” he says.”The skills shortage problem is not going to go anywhere so we need to invest properly in careers advice and schools support to attract women from an early age.”
Recent studies have found that women traditionally tend to veer off towards the English and arts subjects that are taught at schools. This leaves many with only a minor interest in mathematics and science, the core principles of engineering.
The UKRC-WISE report found out these statistics in a recent survey, and it also recommended a number of new techniques educational environments can employ to start hopefully getting women interested in the engineering industry again:
- Publish information about the demand for STEM skills and qualifications, particularly the commercial value of maths and science qualifications, so young people and their parents realise the job and career opportunities
- Show the range of career options, using role models from diverse backgrounds to appeal to whole spectrum of student population
- Embed careers information into the teaching of maths and science, from primary school onwards
- Use social media such as YouTube and Facebook to promote case studies, blogs etc
- Promote more technician and apprentice case studies
- Promote more case studies and role models from BME backgrounds
- Promote more role models from following sectors: technology/computing, chemistry, energy and power, food, materials and built environment
- More collaboration between STEM organisations and initiatives would make a bigger overall impact
PAT Services' Blog 