Utah Companies Need More Engineers

Mar 06, 2008 by Jeff Robinson

(KCPW News) Utah companies still can't recruit enough engineers to meet demand. That's according to Richard Brown, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. He says companies have told him they have openings for a hundred or more engineers.

"I talk to presidents of companies all the time who tell me, we can't bid on jobs because we can't find enough engineers to do the work," said Brown.

Brown says the problem is the misperception that engineering involves only mathematical computation and the difficulty students encounter when initially learning fundamental engineering skills.

The university is countering that with programs like Elementary Engineering Week, going on now at the school, which brings grade-schoolers in to do things like build towers and catapults out of straws and marshmallows. He says the College of Engineering has also started a free tutoring program where juniors and seniors mentor incoming freshmen.

"I think it's a huge help to students to have someone support them and help them get through a class that may be challenging for them, because in most cases, once they get over the hump, they'll do fine in the other courses," said Brown.

Dean Brown says mechanical engineering has seen the greatest growth at the university in recent years. The school has about 2,200 undergrads and nearly 800 grad students.

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