Understanding Attractiveness of Engineering: Influencing Factors and Potential Impacts (Work in Progress)

Issues associated with the shortage of engineers continue to persist and have led to a proliferation of work focused on understanding the factors involved in students' decisions to pursue engineering studies and careers. Such work highlights the range of interrelated actors and factors which inform study and career choice, as well as the diversity in terminology employed in published work. Progress in the area relies upon shared understanding of attractiveness, and the concepts involved. Accordingly, this work in progress focuses on identifying and synthesising existing terms and concepts used in relation to study and career choice more widely, with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding of attractiveness and allowing identification of research gaps. In so doing, we describe several existing study and career choice theories to provide a holistic understanding of the factors involved in study and career choice by situating them within the context of engineering. We then discuss the extent to which academic institutions and industry may influence each factor. We conclude by presenting a proposed methodology for the remainder of the project, for discussion and feedback from the wider community.