The head of graduate resourcing for BP in the UK, says she has seen in increase in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates looking to use their degrees after graduating.  

Speaking to Recruiter, at the final of BP’s Ultimate Field Trip in London, a competition for teams of STEM students from universities in the UK, the US and Trinidad and Tobago, Emma Judge said that this year BP saw applications numbers for its graduate entry scheme rise “significantly” and this had contributed to it being able to fill its vacancies for technical graduate roles “easily”. 

Judge tells Recruiter that the trend is due to a combination of science becoming popular again and the economic climate.

Jennifer Veevers, BP’s graduate marketing manager for the UK, adds: “For the first year ever in the graduate recruitment process we closed the discipline early.”

A recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering shows that the UK needs 1.25m science, engineering, technology professionals and technicians by 2020, with a minimum of 100,000 graduates a year required. However, it warns that graduates in STEM type subjects total only 90,000 a year, with about a quarter choosing not to pursue a career in a related field, leading to a significant shortfall.

This year's BP Ultimate Field Trip was won by a team from the University of Strathclyde, pictured above.