Education & workforce development | Bridging the skills gap
A re-energised bottom-up approach to STEM education will not only address the shortage of engineering and technology skills in the UK workforce, but help increase resilience to climate change. Suzanne Pritchard reports
Above: Glasgow Science Centre in Scotland is holding STEM Futures Work Readiness Workshops. The Drax Group has joined forces with the centre to introduce innovative hydropower education programmes for primary and secondary schools in Scotland © EQRoy /
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Below: An interest in STEM subjects needs to be nurtured from a young age
THE UK CURRENTLY FACES a staggering shortfall of over 173,000 STEM (science, engineering, technology, and mathematics) workers. Such a widening skills gap means that half of all engineering and technology businesses are experiencing difficulties when trying to recruit these workers, with the economic implications costing the UK economy an estimated £1.5bn annually. Worryingly, this is not a new challenge but one that has persisted for 15 years, a duration longer than a primary school student’s entire education. Dr Paul Gosling, Chief Technical Officer at Thales UK, shared his concerns: “The prosperity of companies like Thales hinges upon the consistent inflow of young, passionate engineers. Both public and private sectors must rally behind initiatives that elevate engineering education. Our future economic landscape will be moulded by today’s students. By laying a robust foundation in engineering, we pave the way for a brighter, more innovative future.” With international studies confirming that young people in the UK are not performing as well as their peers internationally, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) believes that the solution to the skills gap lies in education. It states that, “adding more focus on misunderstood disciplines like engineering where we know there is a perception problem, will help young people from all backgrounds better understand how STEM can be applied, close the education gap, increase their career aspirations, and develop other skills such as creativity and problem-solving. Future skills need addressing now”. Such an educational strategy is seen as being an economic imperative to bolster the country’ s resilience. To just keep up with current demands, the
UK needs to generate an estimated 59,000 engineers annually, and as highlighted in IET’s recent report called ‘Engineering Kids’ Futures’, it also necessitates early exposure to engineering and nurturing skills from a young age. Danielle George, former President and Fellow of the IET, says: “The engineering community has its part to play. We refuse to stand by and watch our home-grown talent be denied the opportunities that engineering represents.” To raise engineering’s profile, engagement, and
uptake amongst young people in schools across the UK; the IET recommended to the government that: The English schools’ National Curriculum be reviewed to embed the teaching of engineering at both primary and secondary levels of education. Without receiving any formal teaching in engineering, young people cannot make informed choices regarding future study or career options in engineering and technology. The current Design and Technology curriculum at secondary level needs to be reviewed and possibly rebranded as an ‘engineering and design’ subject. The current subject is suffering from poor pupil uptake, falling numbers of subject specialist teachers, and there is concern regarding its future as a taught subject. To increase their confidence in the subject, all primary and specialist secondary teachers should have some exposure to and experience of engineering as part of their initial teacher training. Government funded teacher training bursaries and scholarships in engineering need to be reviewed to increase their value, availability, and attraction to potential teachers.
Ultimately the IET says the UK needs to grow its own workforce and adopt a long-term strategic approach to addressing the STEM skills shortage.
Lack of specialist skills Another international survey by the IET has also
revealed that fewer than 4% of engineering companies across eight countries think their organisations have all the necessary skills for resilience to the impacts of climate change. In a review of engineering and technology skills in the battle against climate change, the survey tracked the opinions of engineering employers in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US. There are mixed opinions across all countries as
to which skills are most needed to be resilient, from technical/engineering to softer skills like complex problem solving and whole systems thinking. Resilience is especially low in Malaysia and China, where only 1% think they have all of the required skills.
30 | March 2024 |
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