Despite an increasing number of GCSE students studying the sciences, the engineering industry has been warned that the hard work starts here in continuing to build enthusiasm to produce the graduates of the future, says Sarah Taylor, associate director at technical recruiter NES.

Following GCSE results day yesterday, it has emerged that there was a 32% rise in students taking the sciences this year.

But Taylor told Recruiter that while she welcomed the news, she warns the industry will need to continue to educate youngsters on what opportunities are available at A-Level and beyond.

“The industry must continue the enthusiasm. There are a couple more hurdles to get the GCSE students through to A-Level and degrees and into the engineering sector.

“At university level, a lot of strong graduates are picked off by the finance sector, which pays very strongly initially. These candidates are intelligent and the finance firms want the most intelligent candidates with analytic skills used in financial analysis.”