A quantitative analysis of Maltese educational pathways and their impact on the take-up of the engineering profession

Abstract

The Maltese economy is growing at a brisk rate and surveys conducted by the Chamber of Engineers show that the demand for engineering professionals in the Maltese industry is very high. However, this contrasts sharply with the declining take-up of the engineering degree offered at the University of Malta (UM), which was until very recently, the only legally recognized Maltese route into the profession. Hence, reduced take-up of the engineering degree at UM may be associated with reduced take-up of the engineering profession. The objective of this study is to quantify the perceived decline in the take-up of the engineering profession and then quantitatively analyze the trends underlying the pathways taken by local students leading to the engineering profession in order to extract any patterns that may lead to new insights into the causes behind the perceived decline. The results presented in this paper show that the popularity of subjects leading to the engineering degree, did not show any noteworthy signs of change throughout recent years until 2018. This while noting that the combination of Pure Mathematics and Physics taken at A’level remain an unpopular choice, albeit steady at around 6.8% of the corresponding Form 2 population. On the other hand, the number of students taking engineering, normalized as a percentage of the corresponding Form 2 baseline population, shows a steady decline as originally hypothesized. This was largely attributable to a decline in the relative popularity of this degree among students who have in fact obtained the necessary qualifications to follow the engineering course at (UM). This implies that, while the secondary and pre-university educational system should maintain focus on promoting STEM education in general, there needs to be a targeted campaign to attract students who are just about to make their choice in which course to enroll at University level.