TRAINING and development opportunities are more important than salary to UK chemical engineering undergraduates, according to a recent survey by Shell.
The oil company surveyed over 300 chemical engineering undergraduates from 20 UK universities to find out what they looked for in a potential employer. 44% of those surveyed said that training and development was the single most important attribute that they sought from a potential employer. Only 28% classed salary to be their top priority.
A quarter of the undergraduates said they would specifically look for a job that offered international career prospects, while 13% would choose an employer based on the social and sporting facilities on offer. Other highly-rated criteria included flexible working hours and promotion potential.
The survey also revealed that the energy business was the most attractive sector
for chem-eng undergraduates, with a majority of 47% aspiring to work in the
oil and gas sector. The pharmaceutical sector scored 27.3%, the food and drink
industry 13.7%, and cosmetics 7.8%.
The survey also found that just 36% of chem-eng undergraduates keep up to date
with the sector by reading industry publications. Of these, a majority of 16%
read tce.
“I was particularly interested in the survey’s findings to gain an insight into the attitudes and aspirations of tomorrow’s chemical engineers,” said Sarah Miles, Shell’s global brand and communications manager. “It was refreshing to read that training and development opportunities still remain instrumental in many undergraduates’ choice of employer.”
THE UK manufacturing sector has faced some trying times in recent years, but early data suggests that the worst is now finally over and companies can expect a modest recovery.
The end of the war in Iraq has helped inject some confidence and optimism into the economy, and the good weather in April and the timing of Easter have together given April retail sales a much-needed boost. Companies are now hoping that the Bank of England will lower interest rates in order to cement the positive outlook.
The latest figures from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) suggested that the industry was on the verge of turning the corner. CIPS’ manufacturing index rose from 46.3 to 48.3 in April, and the orders index rose to its highest level since December 2002. However, both indices remain below 50, which means that the manufacturing sector is still contracting – just not as fast as it has been. "Although the index still points to contraction, the flavour of the survey was markedly more upbeat than the previous few months," one economist said. "The survey is still not great but it at least suggests that much of the doom and gloom that had built up following last month’s survey was misplaced."
Companies were however less optimistic that renewed growth in UK manufacturing would indeed lead to new jobs, at least not in the immediate future.
On 10 February 2003, the EOC launched a campaign to promote flexible working. A poster in the style of the Carry on films, with the strapline, I can’t carry on, advertises the new legal right for mothers and fathers of children under six, and disabled children under 18, to request flexible working. As well as letting people know about this right, which came into force on 6 April 2003, the campaign has three broad objectives:
The EOC has sent posters and leaflets to health centres in England, Scotland and Wales. Advertisements in the legal and accountancy press alerted solicitors and accountants that the law is changing. Flexible working leaflets, posters and postcards are available from the EOC helpline.
By Jenny Watson
Deputy chair, Equal Opportunities Commission
A recent Equal Opportunities Commission survey found that an overwhelming majority (73%) of people, including non-parents, supported the government’s new rules on flexible working.
Only 3% opposed the idea.
That doesn’t indicate a backlash against the law from non-parents. And it’s not just employees who support it.
Nine out of ten employers who have introduced flexible working – well in advance of the new law – have found they have benefited because it is cost-effective, reduces staff turnover and improves morale.
They may well decide it would make sense to extend the same flexibility to all their workers.
So how is it possible to argue that increasing access to flexible working can be anything other than positive for employers and employees alike?
Of course, once employers have come to mutually convenient arrangements with employees who are parents of young children, and found that those arrangements work, they may well decide it would make sense to extend the same flexibility to all their workers.
That’s a choice for them, and it’s certainly a move that the EOC would welcome.
A discussion-based approach?
But what does the new law actually say? It does not provide an automatic right
to work flexibly.
The legislation recognises there will always be times when an employer is unable
to accommodate a parent’s request.
There can be problems for some businesses, especially small businesses, in allowing
key workers flexible hours
Ruth Lea, IOD
Employers who genuinely cannot make provision for flexible working have nothing
to fear from this law.
It is intended to help the employer and employee have a discussion and find
a solution that suits them both.
In fact, the employee has a responsibility to think carefully about the hours they want to work when making an application.
Their employer is required to follow a laid-out process to ensure requests are considered seriously.
The new right, along with improved maternity rights and the introduction of two weeks paternity leave, will give parents more choice about how they balance work and family.
The introduction of these new regulations is particularly significant for men.
It represents an official recognition, for the first time, of their caring responsibilities.
EOC research has found that men now do about a third of all parental childcare.
Many still would like to be more involved with their children’s lives but feel that they can’t because their employer wants them to work set, often very long hours.
Perhaps that will begin to change now that dads can spend two weeks with their new baby, getting involved right from the start, and now that they can also change their working arrangements if they want to, once the baby arrives.
Many employers see flexible working as a positive change, but their voices are drowned out by the pessimists.
That leads to worries for those who could benefit from new working arrangements.
Flexible working is likely to give employers a more loyal, stable and happier
workforce
People told us that they had some worries about how bosses would respond to requests: 17% of respondents thought their bosses would not respond positively to requests for flexibility, while nearly half (44%) were unsure of their bosses’ likely reactions.
Many men, in particular, are anxious about asking for a change or reduction in their hours if they work for an organisation which has traditionally frowned on the idea – and yet they have the most to gain.
We hope that employers will demonstrate they understand that asking to change your working arrangements does not mean you are any less committed to your job.
The best employers already understand this and we know that they will take the lead in encouraging others to follow their good practice.
Because far from being from being damaging for business, flexible working is likely to give employers a more loyal, stable and happier workforce – and that can only be good for productivity.
If you are an employer or an employee and want some more information about the new law, the EOC can help. Try its website at www.eoc.org.uk or ring our helpline 08456 901 4951
THE IChemE president Dame Julia Higgins has been heralded as one of the most influential women in the UK. In a list of the most influential women published by the Daily Mail newspaper in early April, Higgins is heralded as a pioneer for women in “serious science with vital industrial applications”.
Her inclusion has Higgins rubbing shoulders with the likes of Margaret Thatcher, the feminist Germaine Greer; the renowned neurobiologist and director of the Royal Institution, Susan Greenfield; and the ceo of the London stock exchange, Clara Furse.
The report highlights how Higgins, in her capacity as president of IChemE, has worked to promote chemical engineering as a career for women through projects such as the Athena Project and the Daphne Jackson Trust, which are designed to help women return to work after career breaks.
“If your daughter wants to be a boffin, Dame Julia wants to help,” the Daily Mail says.
Graduates are less depressed, healthier, more likely to vote in elections and help with their children’s education, according to a study commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The study, conducted by researchers at the Institute of Education, University of London, shows that the advantages graduates derive from higher education cover not only better jobs and higher pay, but also a wide range of other social and personal benefits.
On average, graduates are less likely to smoke, are less obese, have a higher sense of well-being, and read more to their children. They are also more likely to be involved with their children’s school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTAs), hold more tolerant attitudes towards other races, and are more likely to be involved in their communities through voluntary activities.
They also cost society less. They are less likely to require social security benefits, and their healthier lifestyle places less burden on the National Health Service.
The study found that the benefits of higher education to graduates are evident across gender, age group and social class. On the other hand students who dropped out of higher education before graduation from the 1958 cohort showed a reduction in the indicators of good health compared with those who completed their studies and gained a degree.
The study compared two cohorts of graduates born in 1958 and 1970. Despite the expansion of the graduate population over the past 25 years, there was no evidence of dilution: the study found that the benefits of higher education were sustained as the graduate population increased.
Sir Howard Newby, Chief Executive of the HEFCE, said: ‘This research, which confirms and builds on the findings of an earlier study, supports the current policies for widening and expanding the number of students participating in higher education.
‘Higher education is a key driver in providing economic and social benefits. Not only are the knowledge, skills and attitudes of graduates critical to business success, they also contribute strongly to civilising and cultural values in society and delivering other social gains. Increasing the number of graduates brings considerable benefits to communities and society.’
Top universities will have to commit themselves to extra spending on grants and other subsidies for poorer students in return for the right to levy top-up fees, the government has announced.
Among the benefits they will have to promise are grants for the less well-off, cheap rooms, travel, books and other study aids.
The move gives the regulator – to be called the Office for Fair Access or Offa – extra teeth alongside its power to ban universities from charging top-up fees at all or imposing interim financial penalties.
The watchdog will grant universities the power to charge up to £3,000 a year per course but, as expected, will not have a role in monitoring admissions.
Charles Clarke, accused of trying to introduce "social engineering" into admissions, specifically stated there would be no government-set "targets or quotas" in the new system.
In a further addition to the "light touch" approach for the new regulator, the education secretary said the main "driver" to widen access was better school performance – a matter outside the regulator’s power.
The new access agreements will contain "milestones" to monitor universities’ performance in widening access – but they will be agreed, and failure to meet them will not automatically lead to the loss of top-up fee income.
But Mr Clarke made clear that he hoped the new regulator would help change the "character" of universities that failed to appeal to students from all classes and backgrounds – especially Oxford and Cambridge. "I think Oxford and Cambridge should specifically be looking to a modern image of themselves, applying to the best and most talented people irrespective of social class," he said.
"To that extent, the Brideshead Revisited image which Oxbridge sometimes transmits isn’t appropriate for that modern age. To the extent that that is the image, it shouldn’t be the image."
Mr Clarke said 35% of students with three A-grade A-levels go to universities outside the research-led Russell Group of elite institutions – despite often having the same, or lower, entry requirements.
As a result, Offa will concentrate on getting universities to say how they
intend to raise aspirations and increase applications – largely through
working with schools and colleges.
Meanwhile, best practice in admissions – the controversial issue that
recently embroiled Bristol in a national row with private schools – will
be set outside Offa by a team headed by Professor Stephen Schwartz, vice-chancellor
of Brunel.
This team will promote admissions based on merit in terms of exam results and potential. This appears to open the way for systems that take into account social background – but only as one factor among many.
The new admissions team is expected to encourage those who make the decisions
to be professionally trained. Bristol, for example, is looking to employ full-time
admissions officers.
The new regulator will operate for an initial five years in England only.
Taken from www.graduateengineer.com