Exploring How Degree Apprentices Experience Their Engineering Identity Through Life Story Interviews and the Twenty Statement Test (TST)

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆

Every year, around 35% of UK engineering graduates (especially women and ethnic minority graduates) choose roles outside engineering, creating a loss of qualified talent amid persistent recruitment shortages. This research examines how engineering identity forms for undergraduates studying an engineering apprenticeship degree in England. Using qualitative methods inspired by narrative inquiry, including life story interviews and the Twenty Statement Test, it reports preliminary findings from first- and final-year students and argues for engineering-education changes that better support identity development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

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Introduction

Exploring How Degree Apprentices Experience Their Engineering Identity Through Life Story Interviews and the Twenty Statement Test (TST) Elena Liquete, School of Management, University of Bath Elies Dekoninck, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath Gina Wisker, School of Management, University of Bath Abstract Every year, around 35% of engineering graduates (mainly female and ethnic minority graduates) in the UK choose roles outside engineering. Given that engineering disciplines struggle to attract recruits, this represents a significant loss of qualified talent the profession can ill afford. A possible reason why engineers choose not to practise after qualifying may be that they have not developed a professional engineering identity during their engineering education. Research shows that engineering identity is an important indicator of persistence in both engineering education and the engineering profession. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding into the process of engineering identity formation in undergraduates studying for an engineering apprenticeship degree in England, with a view to proposing changes to engineering education that may better support the development of an engineering identity. A qualitative methodology is well-suited to the study of how engineering identity develops in engineering students, given that we are interested in the personal experiences of engineering students rather than in measuring standardised outcomes. This research is inspired by narrative inquiry through the use of life story interviews (LSI) . This paper outlines the findings of a preliminary study with first and final year students. The findings presented are surprising in that they seem to indicate that the four years of a degree apprenticeship have little impact on students’ identification with engineering. Going forward, engineering educators need to consider how the development of an engineering identity can be supported in engineering education. Keywords Engineering identity, engineering education, identity theory, degree apprenticeships Introduction Engineers are at the core of a country’s economic success. They create the technologies that people want to buy, bringing wealth to their nations, and are well equipped to solve the problems facing the human race, from global warming to cyber security or water scarcity. The importance of engineering disciplines to the UK economy is well understood; in 2015, engineering generated 25% of the UK’s GDP and employed 19% of the workforce (EngineeringUK, 2019) . Although engineering graduates have excellent employment outcomesand earn 17% more than the average graduate six months after graduation, the profession struggles to attract recruits in sufficient numbers. This means that the UK has a shortage of engineers, threatening the country’s ability to thrive in a globalized economy. However, the shortage of engineers is not just a problem in the UK; a 2019 report from the European Commission (McGrath, 2019) highlights the shortfall of skilled professionals in civil, mechanical, electrical and software engineering in the EU, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The global competition for engineering talent exacerbates shortages at the national level. EngineeringUK, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to increase the talent pipeline into engineering, estimates that in the UK, there are 200,000 fewer graduates entering engineering than are needed, with 46% of engineering employers reporting difficulties to recruit engineers. To make matters worse, not all engineering graduates develop their careers in engineering roles; a report from EngineeringUK notes that in 2018, of all the engineering and technology graduates who found jobs within 6 months after graduation, 34.7% of women and 36.2 % of ethnic minority graduates “were in roles that were neither engineering-related nor within the engineering sector”(EngineeringUK, 2019) . This repres

FAQs

Why does engineering education need to focus on engineering identity formation?

Many engineering graduates—around 35% in the UK—end up in roles outside engineering. Research suggests this may relate to students not developing a professional engineering identity during their education.

What is the main purpose of the study described in the paper?

The study aims to understand the process of engineering identity formation among undergraduates in an engineering apprenticeship degree in England, and to inform changes in engineering education to better support identity development.

What research approach does the paper use to explore identity development?

A qualitative methodology is used, supported by narrative inquiry methods such as life story interviews, focusing on students’ personal experiences rather than standardized outcomes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆