Engineering and careers organisations have joined forces to call on government to invest £40 million to alert more young people to opportunities available in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.
‘Securing the future’, a joint report by EngineeringUK and seven engineering and careers organisations argues that Covid-19 has made delivering STEM careers provision in schools and colleges more difficult. Some 76% of the careers leaders and STEM teachers surveyed say that it has become more difficult to engage with employers since the start of the pandemic, with many saying that careers activities have been put on hold because of time pressures.
The report also found that the digital divide affects access to STEM careers activities in schools and colleges in England, particularly in poorer areas. 68% of schools with above average Free School Meal eligibility (FSM) said a lack of access to technology and internet was a barrier, compared to 36% of schools with below average FSM.
The report argues that to support the drive to build back better and ’level up’ across the UK in a post-Covid world, schools should be provided with an extra £40 million annually to improve their careers provision. It says the new funding could be used to better resource secondary schools and colleges in England to support all young people with their careers choices, with additional funds for STEM careers provision, focused on increasing diversity in the sector.
Funding is also recommended for a dedicated STEM leader in each careers hub, whose role it would be to build schools’ STEM careers capacity by supporting and facilitating joint careers activities with employers, including work experience.
The findings also identified issues related to equality and diversity more generally that were barriers to reaching young people, including lack of role models and lack of understanding of what STEM careers could entail.
Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said: “The youth unemployment figures show young people have been hit hardest by the pandemic, which has exacerbated existing issues, such as the digital divide, further reducing opportunities for young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. At the same time, we know that the STEM sector will offer hundreds of thousands of valuable opportunities for good quality, secure employment. With the government focus on developing the UK as a leader in science and net-zero and the policy of ‘building back better’, together with the levelling up agenda, careers in STEM and engineering will be a reliable choice.”