According to the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Engineering companies need to stop expecting young ‘oven-ready’ employees, and start offering more training opportunities.

IET’s 2014 report states that almost half of the employers interviewed said new recruits’ skill levels didn’t meet reasonable expectations and the IET says that it is the employers who are partly to blame. The majority of the employers also noticed a shortage of new engineers.

Specialist skills often need time to perfect and new engineers will only begin to perfect those skills when they gain working experience, and there definitely needs to be opportunities out there. On a more positive note, apprentices are on the rise and hopefully these young engineers will get more working opportunities in the future when their apprenticeships come to a close.