There is a huge shortage of talented engineers in the civil and structural field but graduates are still finding it increasingly difficult to progress. The experience that can be gained at larger firms can sometimes hinder long-term prospects as they offer minimal practical experience.
The shift comes as smaller consultancies are allowing graduates to become highly involved in projects as well as undertaking varied work. Some graduates have found that larger firms with multi-disciplinary graduate programmes can sometimes pigeon-hole them, rather than providing a general grounding.
Matt Barwell, an experienced structrual engineering consultant comments: “More often than not the best candidates are those who have started in smaller consultancies. Learning how to engineer solutions to problems rather than working on assessments for the first few years of their careers can offer huge long-term benefits.”