Engineering Numbers up at WelTec

5 May 2016

Engineering Numbers up at WelTec

The number of students studying engineering at diploma and degree level is at the highest it has ever been at the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) for this time of year.

255 students are currently enrolled on either the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering or the Bachelor of Engineering Technology Degree. Thirty-three students are currently undertaking the Engineering Foundation programme and many of these students will move into either the Diploma or Degree in Trimester 2. Engineering trades are also proving popular. Many of these students progress onto diploma and degree programmes after working in industry.

“Seeing such strong demand for our engineering programmes this early in the year is very encouraging. The design, construction and infrastructure sector will be heartened to know that we will have significantly more engineers graduating in a few years’ time,” says Head of Engineering Graham Carson.

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace says, “This is great news for Hutt City. There are terrific employment opportunities for our young people to pursue locally particularly with the Engineering Diploma or Degree behind them. Engineering has long been an important sector for Lower Hutt, and it requires a skilled workforce for its continuing success.”

“There’s never been a better time to study engineering”, says Michael Kerr, Beca Wellington Regional Manager, “and the skills provided via the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering or the Bachelor of Engineering Technology degree are ideally suited to the needs of our industry.”

“There’s a real shortage of technical engineers and with so many opportunities in the engineering and construction industry, it’s a great time to be in the engineering field. There are a wide range of major construction projects across the Wellington region, from large roading projects to significant building developments. Even more opportunities might exist across the country. At Beca we want to support talented young people to become engineers and provide them with the opportunity to work on some exciting projects in New Zealand and overseas.”

“We can offer people really exciting and varied careers across many disciplines from structures to civil to mechanical. Because we are present across the Asia-Pacific, our people can focus on the areas they are passionate about, whether that is working to solve environmental problems, improving water quality, designing leading edge environmentally sound buildings or bringing Wellington’s historic buildings back to life. We can provide these opportunities and more.”

Michael adds, “The bottom line is that there is real demand for engineers with technical skills. We want to encourage secondary school students to think about a career in engineering.”

“We are all working hard to address the current skills shortage for people with applied engineering skills and we want to do more particularly with secondary schools about getting the message out that engineering is not dry and boring, but exciting and can make a huge difference in so many different ways to our daily lives and the environment in which we live and work,” says Mr Carson.

ENDS

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