the PeoPle - OPERC - Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research ...

SPECIAL REPORT
Disappointment and
despair walk hand in hand
for the current glut of
graduates who once again
find that hard work, good
results and perseverance
do not, as led to believe,
lead to employment – or
at least not for the sixty
eight unsuccessfuls
who are chasing the one
available job according
to recent estimates.
Neither do these graduates see
any positive outcome from the
encouragement they were given by
government and university recruitment
incentives at the outset of their chosen
careers of three or four years ago, when
100% graduate employment and good
salaries were a motivating force to
balance out the worry of a hefty student
loan repayment. But hey, never mind,
if they can manage to find a bar job
30
August 2010
graduate
despair
instead they won’t have to pay it back
yet as the wage will be too low, and
even if they want to live independently
in their twenties does it really matter
when they can go back and be
supported by their parents?
Let us look at one sample case. Back
in 2005 when Verity Beattie was
embarking on her chosen career, there
was an emphasis on the recruitment of
females into the worlds of engineering
and construction.
“Even in High School I was very keen
on Design and Technology along with
Mathematics and prior to GCSE level
I was being encouraged by my DT
teacher and careers advisor to think
about the opportunities in engineering
and construction, particularly as a
woman.
“I fulfilled my potential both at GCSE
and A level and felt excited and
motivated to be able to have a good
choice of University courses in which
I felt I could expand my knowledge,
skills and expertise. I gained 9 GCSEs,
an AS level and 3 A levels all with
good grades and got offers at all
my preferred Universities. I chose
Newcastle University because the
course in Surveying and Mapping
Sciences in the Geomatics department
of the Civil Engineering Faculty seemed
ideally suited to my love of Mathematics
and Geography. Also, being a ‘hands
on’ practical learner, I liked the idea of
the ‘doing’ side of the course“.
Believing that she was on the right
course of action and having no problem
being accepted on the course, Verity
did not delude herself by thinking
that a good degree and having a
conscientious work ethic would be
“everyone’s talking about it!”
enough to guarantee a job at the end
of things, so she set about finding work
placements.
“I worked as an overseen surveyor with
Birse Civils who were building a new
link road and was able to apply some
of the technology and skills I had been
learning on my course. But the most
important learning was experiencing how
the knowledge and skills are applied in
a job and the interrelation and teamwork
which is so important when working
in construction or any other industry. I
felt that the work experience element
was very important in consolidating
and updating what I was learning at
university so I applied for a job with a
firm working on pilot studies for transport
and road schemes. I am still doing some
work with them but like everyone else,
although they would like to be able to
carry on employing me I am about to
finish when the current scheme ends. It’s
the same story everywhere- no money
to spare“.
“now it is all starting to
look very bleak and the goal
i have worked towards for
years seems out of reach.”
Thinking that a good 2.1 degree
might not be enough with the number
of students entering universities to
meet government targets for higher
education, Verity was encouraged
to do a Masters Degree. She chose
Transport Engineering with Operations
as this seemed the ideal route to
develop her interest and talents.
Verity told us: “It was a very hard
decision to make at the time as my
student loan was piling up already even
though I had tried to spend carefully,