Graduate engineers’ pay rose 4% since last year

Engineering graduates earn £28,000 a year, on average – £5,000 more than the national graduate average, adi Group said.

Adi Group ceo Alan Lusty said: “Engineering continues to be a viable and in-demand profession. Both engineering graduates, and those further on in their career, can expect good salaries and job opportunities well into the future, and more so than their peers in other professions.

‘Highly rewarding career’

“Engineers are the driving force behind innovation – few jobs have such a direct role in defining and sustaining the way we live. It’s a highly skilled, highly rewarding career.”

Young people should be attracted to joining the engineering sector, Lusty said, after it was revealed engineers were in short supply. Adi Group said it launched the UK’s first pre-apprenticeship scheme for 14–16 year olds in October, to encourage more young people to become engineers.

The food and drink industry could benefit from scheme, the group claimed. It would teach the skills needed for a career in engineering, which could be transferred to the food and drink industry, it said.

‘Core, practical, hands-on skills’

An adi Group spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “The pre-apprenticeship [course] teaches the core, practical, hands-on skills needed to carve a career in either mechanical or electrical engineering. These include welding, basic wiring, health and safety and reading technical drawings.

“These skills, of course, can be transferred across to the food and beverage industry – one of adi Group’s core market sectors.

Meanwhile, new degree apprenticeships will help plug the skills gap in food and drink manufacturing, claimed Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing. The institute secured a share of the £4.5M degree apprenticeship development fund to create the UK’s first degree in Food Engineering, Technical Management and Operations Management.