Abstract:
To be able to meet national sustainability ambitions and climate agreements, more young people have to be attracted to pursue a career in the engineering sector. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of sustainability in career choices made by pupils and students in this sector. Semi structured interviews were conducted with pupils and engineering students, as well as career experts. While the interviews indicated that sustainability is often not considered as a decisive factor in study choice and job choice, further analysis revealed that sustainability may indirectly influence these choices through the mediating effects of ‘interest’ and ‘values’. Consistent with the ‘conscience gap’ theory, pupils showed less interest in sustainability than students. The term ‘sustainability’ may be too abstract for them, and should therefore be taken into a broader perspective. In regard to values, it was found that goal oriented pupils and students are more likely to be attracted to sustainability than people who are focussed on their daily activities. These findings might help educational institutes and employers to attract potential engineers by effectively communicating their sustainability strategy.
