Increased demand for STEM graduates in the UK called out by research institute
The UK is facing a shortage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates, with the Social Market Foundation's recent report stating that businesses require 104,000 new STEM-qualified graduates annually between now and 2020. The report warns that this shortage could further undermine the government's aim to reduce migration while rebalancing the economy.
To address this issue, the focus is on strengthening early STEM education and substantially increasing the supply of qualified science and maths teachers. This approach involves targeted interventions in both curriculum and teacher workforce development.
Enhancing Early STEM Education
Promoting engaging, hands-on, and innovative STEM learning experiences from primary through secondary levels is crucial. Incorporating elements like the Maker Movement’s creative, digital fabrication activities can increase student interest and understanding, especially for non-engineering students. Supporting community and adult learners’ maths skills with flexible programs like the UK Shared Prosperity Fund’s Multiply project has shown success in improving numeracy through tutoring and digital resources.
Increasing the Supply of Qualified STEM Teachers
Recruiting more STEM professionals into teaching and improving teacher training programs are key strategies. Providing support and pathways for career changers can leverage their subject expertise to meet demand. Improving teacher training programs and incentives can attract and retain high-quality maths and science educators, addressing high turnover and retirement rates. Professional development for "under-qualified" STEM teachers and attracting more qualified candidates can balance teacher quality with the need to fill vacancies.
Collaboration between Industry and Education
Fostering partnerships between employers, higher education, and schools can develop accredited and industry-relevant STEM teacher training and degree apprenticeship programs. These apprenticeships produce graduates with strong business and technical skills, ready to meet industry standards. Expanding degree apprenticeships in STEM fields offers practical, up-to-date training aligned with labour market needs.
Policy and Funding Support
Continuous government funding is necessary to support local authorities and devolved administrations in delivering tailored STEM education initiatives and teacher training programs. Aligning training and education supply with projected demand through skills assessments is also crucial.
The report suggests making teaching more financially rewarding, relaxing the eligibility criteria for teacher training, and improving STEM attainment earlier in the education process to increase the number of students eligible for STEM careers. However, these measures would not be sufficient to fill the entire shortfall.
The UK's STEM industries will heavily rely on immigration due to the skills shortage. Any further delays in improving home-grown STEM skills will make industries more reliant on migration in the future. The Social Market Foundation's report, titled "In the balance," suggests ways to reduce the dropout rate of school students from STEM subjects.
The report states that 18,000 of the required graduates did not pursue STEM-related jobs, emphasising the need for strategies to retain these students within STEM fields. The report also recommends expanding the supply of science and maths teachers as a solution to boost GCSE STEM attainment.
The UK government currently has a target to reduce net migration to 'tens of thousands' by the end of the parliament. Balancing this target with the need for a skilled workforce in STEM industries will require careful consideration and coordinated efforts across education policy, funding, teacher recruitment, and industry collaboration.
To mitigate the UK's STEM graduate shortage, it's essential to boost early STEM education and elevate the supply of qualified science and maths teachers. This can be achieved by promoting engaging learning experiences, incorporating creative digital fabrication activities, and supporting community and adult learners' maths skills. Furthermore, recruiting more STEM professionals into teaching, enhancing teacher training programs, and fostering partnerships between employers, higher education, and schools will help address the current teaching gap. effective implementation of these strategies could reduce the UK's reliance on immigration in STEM industries in the future, enabling a more balanced approach to meeting the demand for skilled workers.
