STARTING AND DEVELOPING AN ENGINEERING CAREER: BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Very strong role models who have a marked enthusiasm for their subject are needed at every point along an employee's education and work career.

THERE HAS PROBABLY NEVER BEEN SUCH A DEMAND for professionally qualified engineers, and yet both the number and diversity of people entering the profession continue to decline. Worldwide, there are very many and diverse initiatives to improve the situation-some generally encouraging interest in the profession, and others targeting specific audiences. There have been some local successes, but the overall picture remains discouraging.

For a long time, there has been a growing awareness of a diminishing of interest in the engineering profession on the part of potential students. The principal hypothesis is that the image of the profession is poor, requiring hard work to qualify but delivering only a modest reward. Other hypotheses include a lack of flair in the management of young engineers that limits their experience rather than creating a vision.