UK chemical engineering student intake drops by 12%

It is the first such fall since the turn of the century and the launch in 2001 of IChemE’s promotional campaign in schools, whynotchemeng.

UCAS revealed that applications last year fell from 23,125 to 20,325 and intake figures from 3,775 to 3,300. The service is responsible for processing applications to higher education courses.

Institution of Chemical Engineers’ (IChemE) director Andy Furlong said the results suggested that the “phenomenal” level of interest in the subject peaked in 2015, followed by a cooling in demand for places.

“Young people today have a wider choice of routes into technical roles,” he stated.

“From a social mobility perspective this is good news, and IChemE is working with a number of major employers to offer apprentices and engineering technicians flexible routes to professional registration.”

Furlong added that changes in the economic climate for the sector meant that there were fewer job opportunities in at least one employment sector.

Young people today have a wider choice of routes into technical roles. From a social mobility perspective this is good news, and IChemE is working with a number of major employers to offer apprentices and engineering technicians flexible routes to professional registration

Institution of Chemical Engineers’ (IChemE) director Andy Furlong

“IChemE is receiving reports of a graduate oversupply, particularly in light of the challenges facing the energy sector, which has traditionally hired a good proportion of chemical engineering graduates. In addition, the UK government has placed a major focus on apprenticeships,“ he said.

The UCAS report revealed that there had been a significant drop in the proportion of students from outside the UK studying chemical engineering over the last decade. In 2006 this cohort comprised 36%, last year the proportion was down to 24%.

The one significant piece of good news is that the subject is popular with female undergraduates, who contributed 26% of the total 2016 intake figure. Overall there has been a 5% increase in the number of girls studying UK engineering courses since 2007.