From Guy Houlsby, Brasenose College, Oxford
How could Alan Jones write an entire page on the skills shortage in the sciences (26 January, p 23) without a single appearance of the word “salary”?
Alan Jones calls for universities to produce more high-quality bioscience graduates and his industry group, Semta, proposes to establish a forum where employers can tell universities what skills they need.
I am sure they will find universities receptive to their ideas – if they can speak with one voice. But this can only have a marginal effect because the main problem is a shortage of good students entering the programmes: minor changes to the curriculum will have little effect on the attractiveness of science to school-leavers.
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What will have an effect, as ever, is money. If employers sponsor students through their three or more years of study, provide vacation employment and training, and guarantee a job at graduation (subject to performance), the situation could change radically.
University departments would have an additional incentive to provide suitable courses if employee sponsors paid their students’ full fees, rather than the reduced rate for UK/EU nationals.
In industrial terms, the cost of each sponsored student is small, and the employers will benefit from reduced recruiting costs and staff stability. Come on, industry: if you want the students, help us find and provide them!
From Stephen Bazlington
As the father of a biomedical graduate, a mechanical engineer, a medical doctor and a physiotherapist, I have formed the clear opinion that industry needs to pay scientists a living salary if graduates are to be encouraged to enter the science world. The biomedical graduate has become a carpenter. The mechanical engineer is in the army and sees no future in engineering when he leaves.
Great Dunmow, Essex, UK
I am continually reading about the lack of science graduates in the UK – especially female science graduates – and concerns that the UK will become uncompetitive.
This contrasts sharply with my own experience. I have just graduated with a first class honours degree in human biology, yet I have been unable to find employment either at a suitable graduate level or even a position that just pays enough to manage the bills. It is frustrating that I have to rely on accountancy skills from my previous career to find gainful employment.
The dearth of jobs for new science graduates, combined with the current excess of PhD graduates in the market, means that new graduates are always second choice. My options now are to continue temping, gradually losing my skills through lack of use, or to embark on a PhD.
What will happen to graduates like me, who want an assistant role and do not particularly want to study to PhD level? Is there just no room for us any more?
Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
Oxford, UK
