An engineering qualification makes an excellent passport to the world of work. Graduates are in short supply and are being snapped up by eager employers, so starting salaries are high. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, established by the Government, has estimated that an additional 8,300 technologists are needed by the economy each year up to 2003. This includes a need for an additional 2,000 engineering professionals and 1,800 engineering technicians.
The overall technologist supply is estimated at 6,100 annually so there is a shortfall, or skills gap, of 2,200 per annum for the next four years. While this is bad news for employers it is good news for students contemplating careers in the engineering area.
Engineering graduate destinations
Each year the Higher Education Authority produces a report based on a survey of graduates carried out in April. This year's report, published on Monday, provides a snapshot of where the graduates of 1997 were in April 1998, and is a useful indicator of graduate demand.
Unsurprisingly, the vast bulk of engineering graduates with primary degrees were in employment when they were surveyed. In all, 61 per cent found work in Ireland while 23 were employed abroad.
A very low proportion - 9 per cent - went on to further study or research work while 1.3 per cent embarked on further vocational and professional training. In all, 2.5 per cent were seeking employment at the date of the survey.
Just over half of the engineering graduates were earning salaries in the region of £15,000 to £19,000, while 9 per cent were earning £19,000 plus.
At certificate/diploma level the pattern of graduate employment is somewhat different, with more students continuing their studies and fewer entering the marketplace directly. At certificate level, almost two-thirds of engineering graduates continued their studies, presumably to diploma level.
A further 31 per cent went directly into jobs, and only 1.4 per cent of respondents were seeking employment in April 1998.
At diploma level, 44 per cent of students continued their studies while 53 per cent went directly into the workplace, with 1.7 per cent seeking employment at the date of the study.
These figures show how the ladder from certificate to diploma to degree and beyond is being used.
Many of the students who began their studies at certificate level continued with their education on a full-time basis immediately after graduation, while others may return in later years or may continue to participate in education on a part-time basis.
The very low proportion - less than 2 per cent - of certificate and diploma graduates seeking employment is an indication of the intrinsic value of these qualifications, which should not just be seen as a route to a degree.
Choosing an engineering course
The range of engineering courses on offer is huge, varying from food process, polymer, mineral, and biomedical engineering to the more traditional mechanical, electronic, electrical and civil disciplines.
Students who have a general interest in engineering but are unsure which discipline they want to specialise in might look at common-entry courses. These are offered, at degree level, by TCD, UCD, NUI Galway and DIT.
The advantage of any common-entry programme is that it allows you a little time to sample the various disciplines before you make up your mind. In TCD the first two years are common, and students are accommodated in their choice of specialisation, rather than having to compete for places in third year.
TCD offers five specialisations: civil, structural and environmental engineering; mechanical and manufacturing engineering; electronic engineering; computer engineering; electronic and computer engineering (joint programme).
Both NUI Galway and UCD operate quota systems so students have to compete for places after a common first year. UCD offers specialisations in agricultural and food engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, electrical/electronic engineering and mechanical engineering.
Prospective chemical engineers should note that chemical engineering is on offer only in UCD and Cork IT, which operates a direct-entry programme.
The specialisations on offer in second year in NUI Galway are civil, electronic, industrial engineering and information systems, mechanical, electronic and computer engineering and biomedical engineering. DIT Bolton Street's common-entry engineering degree (course code FT125) branches into mechanical, manufacturing, building services and structural engineering.
To enter any engineering degree programme directly after the Leaving Certificate you will need a minimum of a C3 in higher-level maths with UCD requiring a higher-level B3.
Direct-entry engineering courses
The range of direct-entry engineering courses expands each year so students can opt for transport engineering, medical mechanical engineering, marine engineering, mechatronics . . . The following gives a flavour of a few direct-entry courses on offer around the State:
Polymer engineering at Athlone IT:
When senior lecturer in plastics and polymer engineering Mr Paul Blackie visits second-level schools, he brings an unusual bag full of appliances with him, anything from a CD to a dialysis filter to an infusion pump to a toner drum, a photocopier, a TV cabinet and a printer cartridge.
"These are all made in Ireland and are the sort of products our graduates go out and work with," he says. "Somebody has to design them, select the materials, select a process and the equipment as well as supervising and manufacturing the product."
There are about 300 companies and 30,000 people involved in the polymer industry in Ireland, he adds. Starting salaries for polymer engineers last year averaged £17,000. The indications so far are that that will increase by a further £1,000 this year.
And last year half of the class group was offered full-time jobs before they sat their exams in May, says Mr Blackie. Students may also opt for further studies.
At present there are nine postgraduate students in polymer engineering in Athlone IT.
Mineral engineering
Athlone IT is the only third-level college in the Republic which offers mineral engineering. It is a three-year ab initio diploma with 25 first-year places. Up to one-quarter of the students are women. Graduates of the course are scattered around the world.
Between 50 and 60 per cent of diploma graduates go on to study for a degree. Degrees are not available in this State, but there are 11 UK colleges offering honours degrees. In most cases, colleges or employers offers some form of sponsorship or scholarship. Past graduates have also proceeded to postgraduate level.
Mr Nigel Foley-Fisher, senior lecturer in mineral engineering, notes that there is a difficulty with perceptions about work in mining and quarrying.
"The Celtic Tiger requires sand, gravel and blocks . . . Minerals sustain the society we live in. It is outdoor work and you have to get your hands dirty, must also be prepared to work in uncomfortable environments," he adds.
Medical device engineering at Galway-Mayo IT
This national certificate is the only one of its kind on offer in the IT sector, according to Mr Gerard MacMichael, head of the college's school of engineering. It offers students an opportunity to acquire basic mechanical and manufacturing skills focused on the medical device sector.
Graduates are capable of supporting engineers in product design and manufacturing process design and operations. They can find work in product development, process support or as quality technicians, according to Mr MacMichael. All students take a European language for two years.
Food process engineering at UCC
UCC's food process engineering degree course offered places to all qualified applicants this year. This lack of demand on the part of school-leavers belies the excellent career prospects it affords.
Dr Kevin Cronin, course lecturer, says there have been two cohorts of graduates, and those who wished to enter employment directly had no difficulty in securing jobs. Average starting salaries were in the region of £17,000, he adds.
"It's an industry that is increasingly technical and will have a continuing demand for qualified engineers. Employment prospects are not cyclical."
Electronic engineering at Cork IT
Cork IT offers electronic engineering as an ab initio degree and also at certificate level with an add-on diploma on offer. Mr Paul Sliney, deputy head of the department of electronic engineering at Cork IT, says the college is "heavily committed to the ladder of opportunity which operates in the IT sector. Any student entering the system can see a path of PhD . . . Of the six PhD candidates in our department at the moment three come from the cert-diploma-degree sequence."
If you decide to opt for a direct-entry programme, you should be very sure about what exactly it entails. There is a very high drop-out rate in the first year of third-level courses and this is largely due to students pursuing poorly-researched choices. Look at the college prospectus and talk to your guidance counsellor. Do not rely on a single sentence in the CAO handbook.
Marino College, Dublin
Marino College was inadvertently left out of the list of Post Leaving Certificate colleges in yesterday's College Choice supplement. The college offers a wide range of courses including nursery nursing, drama and dance, computer and business studies, and hotel, catering and tourism. For full details contact the college at (01) 833-2100.