Engineering students want more work experience opportunities

A thousand engineering undergraduates from across the UK were surveyed by TARGETjobs Engineering, with results showing they felt that a lack of work experience opportunities made it much more difficult to get a job interview or offer in their final year.

“Graduates need a chance to gain experience although they are being asked to have experience before they’re considered for a job. This isn’t fair,” said one mechanical engineering student from Imperial College.

“Most students have no experience but most of the jobs ask for experience. It’s completely unfair and pushes a lot of people out of the engineering market,” added an electrical engineering student from Loughborough.

Students also said they’d like more employers on campus and more direct involvement by employers in coursework.

Many engineering companies are taking these concerns onboard and are committing to extending placement programmes so that more students get the opportunity to gain workplace experience before graduation.