“Many recently graduated students are crying out for jobs, while industry is crying out for suitably qualified people to fill vacancies,”  Murat Vesikalik said in a discussion he and I had last year about the Autodesk “First Step in your Career” programme. “And yet the unemployment rate is very high,” he said. “We are experiencing the same problem in Turkey and that is why we last year launched the programme.” Following the success of the 2022 initiative, Autodesk is presenting the programme again this year.

Many young graduates opt for temporary jobs to tide themselves over until they can find employment in a career they have studied for and are qualified in. Job seekers and employers are not communicating and often have the wrong image about each other. Young engineers are often unhappy about what companies offer. They expect a higher level of renumeration in line with the years and money spent on achieving qualifications, yet industries see it differently.  Industry often complain that young people just want to earn a large salary but do not want to put in the hours. It is like playing the blame game. There is clearly a disconnect that is adding to the growing unemployment problem and disgruntled graduates.  In some respects, the problem is created by tertiary educators and industry not consulting enough about what industry is expecting educational institutions to teach. Technology is moving fast, and adjusting educational syllabi is a complicated and slow process. In many ways, the concept of teaching the underlying basics followed by a one or two year internship would meet the expectations from both sides. This is often not appreciated by new graduates, many of whom believe that they are just used as cheap labour, while others again are only too pleased to get the experience while earning a stipend.

Autodesk developed a two month programme for newly qualified engineers and technicians.  The volunteer-based programme includes technical training, interview techniques, help with preparing a CV and one-on-one mentoring. The technical training is working on Fusion 360, an Integrated CAD, CAM, CAE, and PCB software. Fusion 360 is a cloud-based 3D modelling, CAD, CAM, CAE and PCB software platform for product design and manufacturing. It enables users to:

• design and engineer products to ensure aesthetics, form, fit and function;
• reduce the impact of design, engineering and PCB changes and ensure manufacturability with simulation and generative design tools; and
• directly edit existing features or model fixtures with the only truly integrated CAD + CAM software tool. The software is made available free of charge to students and Fusion 360 training is part of the Autodesk outreach programme. The webinar leaders include Cindy Norcott, a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, business coach, philanthropist and chairperson of the Robin Hood Foundation, who will be discussing “What recruiters want and motivation for job seekers,” and   Robert Burnie, global engineering/drawing office manager for AECI, who will lead the webinar on “What an employer wants.”

Graduates from any of the following disciplines can apply: mechanical, electrical, electronic, industrial, design, manufacturing, mechatronics and aeronautical engineering, who are not employed in the field they qualified in and who graduated in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 or who will graduate in 2023.

The closing date is 31 January 2023. For more information visit First step in your career program 2023 | Autodesk