CHEMICAL industries, to use a gardening metaphor have become well established in Ireland and are unlikely to move easily. This is one of the conclusions of a recent survey on the Irish chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
According to that survey, "the nature and essence of the industry involves well paid full-time, nonseasonal, and stable employment and is consequently of strategic and vital importance to the economic and social structure."
For students considering chemical engineering as a career, the long lead-in time for research, development and product approval - as well as the Investment in land, buildings and plant - means the Industry is firmly anchored here.
Dr Flnbar Callanan, director general of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, says that chemical engineering has retained a very strong position in the market, despite minor ups and downs. He expects the Industry to continue to grow particularly the health and pharmaceutical areas.
Students interested in studying chemical engineering in the Republic must compete for a limited number of places on offer in Cork RTC and UCD. The course in Cork RTC operates direct entry but, in UCD, there's a common entry system; students specialise in second year.
John O'Shea, head of the chemical engineering course at Cork RTC, says that the course there and the one at UCD are accredited by the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and the Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK). There are 23 accredited courses in the UK, including the course in Queen's, Belfast. O'Shea says students should look carefully at course accreditation if they are thinking of studying chemical engineering in Britain. "There are some courses on offer in the UK which are not accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and, therefore, these do not offer professionally recognised qualifications," he explains.
On average, 25 students graduate from Cork RTC's course each year. O'Shea says that the number of women students is notable. "It can be stressed, in fact, that there is now no gender issue in the chemical engineering profession. Almost half of this year's graduating class were women, and it has to be said that initially, they were more successful than their male colleagues in finding work, though the situation has now balanced up somewhat," he says. In UCD, about 20 per cent of the first-year engineering students are women and Paddy O'Flynn, chemical engineering lecturer, stresses that the college would be keen to see more women opting for engineering. As engineering becomes more and more cerebral, he says, there are no reasons why women should not apply. Overall, employment prospects are quite good, O'Shea says; most graduates start work as a chemical engineer with either a manufacturing company or a design and consultancy company. They can command attractive starting salaries, he adds.
Some of the work is on a short-term contract basis, however, graduates would appear to be successful in going from one contract to another and, in common with other careers, the short-term contract is often a stepping stone to a permanent job.
Paddy O'Flynn, of UCD, agrees that the careers scene for chemical engineers is reasonable. "It was a bit rocky but has become a little more stable," he says. There are 35 to 40 places in chemical engineering in UCD, and of those about eight to 10 graduates would opt for postgraduate studies (research or taught) in Ireland. UCD has a masters in environmental engineering, which is offered jointly with the civil engineering faculty.
Three to six students usually go to the USA to pursue postgraduate studies. Of the remainder about half of the students have jobs prior to graduation.
