Inspiring Gen Z to choose engineering careers

Engineers Australia (EA), in partnership with Year 13, has launched the Engineered for Impact campaign as part of a wider Inspiring Future Engineers initiative in Sydney last week.

The aim of the collaboration is to demystify engineering, to highlight its role in shaping our society, and to foster curiosity and confidence in school students who may never have considered it a career option. Engineered for Impact aims to do this by connecting directly with Gen Z and mobilising teachers, parents, career advisors and EA members with the information and strategic direction they need to support the next generation to do so.

This campaign will reach secondary students across over 1200 schools nationally through engaging digital content, career tools and a dedicated online engineering academy for them to explore and learn about the wealth of opportunities and pathways a career as an engineer can bring.

Bernadette Foley, EA’s Group Executive for Professional Standards and Engineering Practice, said at the launch that collaboration reflects one of Engineers Australia’s key strategic priorities: to attract young Australians to the engineering profession.

“Engineered for Impact comes as Australia faces an ever-increasing commitment to exciting projects and initiatives that rely on engineering, yet domestic student commencements in engineering have essentially stalled since 2014,” she said. “Inspiring Future Engineers is a multi-year, evidence-based initiative developed by Engineers Australia and supported through external research. It looks at international education data and trends, what influences and motivates our young people when making career choices, and what their understanding of engineering is.”

Shellie McDonald, EA’s Senior Manager for Engineering Talent, said the initiative is timely given the release of EA’s new research ‘Decoding the Career Path of Today’s Young People’.

“It shows that engineering ranks just fourth in career interest among students, behind medicine, health sciences and business. And the problem is not ability or aptitude; it is perception,” she said.

“This is also troubling when Decoding the Career Path of Today’s Young People findings also show that 74% of students are most eager to work in industries that represent the future, 70% want to use the latest technology and 79% want to make a positive impact on communities. Engineering strongly aligns with these values.”

Image credit: iStock.com/JK1991