INDUSTRY News
PARENTS SUPPORT TECH CAREERS BUT ARE UNSURE HOW TO HELP THEIR KIDS PURSUE THEM
• New research reveals vast majority of parents find the idea of their child following a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) career appealing • However, parents lack confidence discussing these careers with their kids, with mums less confident than dads • With National T levels week kicking off this month, over two-fifths (43%) of parents said they either hadn’t heard of T levels or were unsure if they had The research, published by not-for-profit EngineeringUK reveals 8 in 10 parents/carers/guardians find the idea of their child pursuing a career in engineering (79%), science (79%) or technology (81%) appealing. However, parents lack confidence giving STEM careers advice and are unsure of the entry routes after leaving school. Confidence is lowest for discussing engineering careers, with over half (55%) saying they were not confident discussing them, with 23% ‘not at all confident’. In terms of gender, dads are more confident about giving STEM careers advice than mums. This was seen across all 3 subject areas, with the largest gap being for engineering (with 58% of dads being confident vs just 25% of mums). This overall lack of confidence in giving STEM careers advice could be explained by low awareness around the variety of starting points into the sector. For example, while 42% of parents say they know a lot about university degrees as an educational route, just 20% said the same for apprenticeships, 15% for other vocational qualification, 12% for BTECs, and just 5% for T levels. In fact, over two-fifths (43%) of parents in England said they either hadn’t heard of T levels or were unsure if they had. Becca Gooch, Head of Research at EngineeringUK, said: “While schools play an important role in providing careers advice, we know that parents are the most consulted source of careers information by young people.
“It’s encouraging that parents recognise engineering and tech
provide great career opportunities for young people, particularly as demand for these roles is growing in the UK. But the findings also highlight we need to ensure parents are empowered to support their child to discover the variety of interesting and rewarding jobs and entry routes available. “This will help to ensure that young people from all backgrounds
are being encouraged to consider these careers and know they are not beyond their reach.” Among parents who think that engineering is an appealing
career for their child to pursue, the top 3 reasons were: good earning potential (73%), can work in many different industries (63%), interesting work/profession (61%).
www.engineeringuk.com
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automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | October 2025
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