Engineering figures in major flux

Engineering tends to act as a weather vane for the whole economy and when there is a boom, engineering graduates are the big winners.

The HEA figures for engineering are two years old, but still indicate an industry in major flux.

Despite all the opportunities, over 30 per cent of engineering graduates went abroad to work. This left the number of engineering graduates holding down jobs here - at 68.1 per cent - lower than many other faculties, including commerce and science.

When they went abroad, most of them plumped for Britain or another European state, with significant groups also going to north America, Australia and New Zealand.

So what if you do not take the subject at degree level in one of the universities? Well, your chances of getting a job here with a diploma are still pretty healthy with 56 per cent getting a full-time post.

Predictably, students doing certificates in an engineering discipline fared differently, with only 32.8 per cent getting a full-time job. Most of them (61.4 per cent) have to do further study, although most colleges offer a well-trodden path into an engineering diploma or degree.