Event: Joint SEPnet & WRIPA Embedding Employability workshop on the
STEM Demand vs STEM Supply: Reality, Rhetoric, or Recruitment Challenge?
Supported by the IOP
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026
Time: 12:00–16:30
Venue: International Student House, London, W1W 5PN
Chair: Professor Sir William Wakeham
Highly relevant for academics and those who support physics students’ employability.
A light lunch and refreshments will be provided.
To see the agenda, travel info and to register for this FREE workshop, click here: https://sepnet-wripa-workshop8.eventbrite.co.uk.
PROGRAMME
At this event we will be exploring the rhetoric around demand and supply for STEM graduate employment by sharing findings from High Fliers Research and Lightcast, based on their recent student survey, alongside insights from employers and recruiters. These contributions together will show what the latest data and real‑world experience reveal about current graduate recruitment, including where the evidence supports—or challenges—the prevailing narrative. We will also be discussing the impact of AI on STEM recruitment.
You will hear directly from employers across a range of sectors about their current graduate recruitment needs, the challenges they face, and their feedback on student applications. We will also hear from a recruiter about how they use LinkedIn as a search engine in their hiring process, along with practical advice on how STEM students can stand out and secure graduate‑level employment.
WHO IS THIS AIMED AT?
This workshop is ideal for colleagues involved in employability, curriculum development, industry engagement, and physics graduate outcomes. It is aimed at heads of physics departments, academics responsible for employability and curriculum development, programme managers, heads of teaching and learning, industry representatives, employers and anyone with responsibility for developing physics graduates’ employability skills. It will build a wider network of employability‑focused academic and professional staff and includes presentations and case studies from employers, recruiters, and UK physics departments.
