A computer engineering graduate spends his first months at a financial technology firm feeling permanently "out of place." A mechanical engineer in the defence sector waits far longer than his white colleagues for security clearance, then eats lunch alone, isolated from his team. An aerospace engineering graduate takes on systems engineering project leadership and finds himself paid the same as new starters on the graduate scheme. These experiences come from a two-year, British Academy-funded study at the University of Greenwich, drawing on interviews with 40 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) graduates holding degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), alongside focus groups with employers across engineering, construction and technology. The study led by Dr Sterling Rauseo, included Prof Myrtle Emmanuel, Dr Andrew Hansen-Addy, Raluca Marinciu, and Dr Kunle Oguntegbe.
A pipeline problem the sector already recognises
Skills shortages remain a persistent concern across UK technology. Our findings suggest that part of the answer is already sitting in the graduate pool, underused. One technology sector representative in our focus groups quoted CIPD research on UK employers showing below 28% of them have strategies in place to remove various biases from hiring, despite widespread public commitment to diversity. Graduates described video interviews and psychometric assessments as tools that reward a narrow, extroverted communication style, filtering out candidates before their technical ability is even assessed. In addition, a corporate stakeholder remarked that “black males progress 32% slower, and there are no links to performance”. Existing research show, that only 34.1% of Black graduates moved into “high-skilled” jobs shortly after graduation (Graduate Labour Market, 2025), and while 31% of engineering and technology undergraduate entrants are BAME, they represent only 12.4% of the engineering workforce (Engineering UK Report, 2025).
Where recruitment and retention break down
Several patterns recurred across our interviews:
Assessment centres and automated screening tools were experienced as opaque, with rejected candidates routinely given no feedback to act on.
Pay transparency was frequently absent. One computer engineering graduate described a room where "every single person in that room was paid something different," leaving BAME candidates with little basis to negotiate.
Diversity focussed recruitment often stopped at the point of entry. One employer told us plainly: "you get them in, you don't move them on, and then you haven't really enabled anything at all."
International graduates faced a distinct challenge: sponsorship requirements pushed them into underpaid roles, while employers used visa dependency to justify lower pay.
What tech employers can do
Genuine progress requires more than a diverse shortlist. Firms in this sector are well placed to lead on several fronts:
Audit recruitment tools, including automated and video-based assessments, for bias toward specific communication styles or cultural norms.
Introduce pay transparency at graduate and early-career level, so suppressed salaries cannot persist unnoticed.
Build sponsorship, alongside mentorship, into progression pathways, so BAME staff have advocates who can open doors to senior roles.
Partner with universities on live projects and structured placements, reaching students who cannot afford unpaid work experience.
Dr Sterling Rauseo is Lead Investigator on the Mind the STEM Gap project and can be contacted at [email protected].
Dr Sterling Rauseo
Lead Investogator on the Mind the STEM Gap project, University of Greenwich
Dr Sterling Rauseo
Lead Investogator on the Mind the STEM Gap project, University of Greenwich
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