Engineering news
The State of Engineering 2017 report has called for efforts to be “re-doubled” to improve Stem education and attract more young people into the sector.
This is despite the Engineering UK annual report finding that 9% more engineering and technology first degrees were obtained in 2014/15 than the year before. England has also seen more young people starting engineering-related apprenticeships this year than in the last decade, and more 11-16 year olds “would consider a career in engineering” – up from 40% to 51% in four years.
However, the report says that “positive trends in perceptions have done little to reduce the national shortfall of Stem-qualified students interested in engineering careers,” and more should be done to increase numbers of children studying Stem topics to create a stronger pipeline of engineering talent.
Also, once again, the efforts to attract women into engineering are falling short. Less than one in eight of the engineering workforce is female, and boys in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are three and half times more likely to study A-level Physics than girls - and five times more likely to gain an engineering and technology degree.
To overcome this, the report stresses that more needs to be done to educate pupils about what engineering really is and its value to the economy, highlighting that this sector contributes 26% of the country's GDP. In 2015, this figure amounted to £486 billion.
A shift away from careers support in schools and towards employer engagement would help to show pupils the variety of possibilities that can come from studying Stem subjects, the findings suggest. And, the authors write, it is important to keep attracting and retaining international talent from the EU, "a vital part of post-Brexit policies”.
The report was accompanied by a joint letter from Engineering UK chair Malcolm Brinded and president of the Royal Academy of Engineering Professor Dame Ann Dowling. The letter said that while the report showed some positive signs, "there continue to be real concerns, and efforts should be redoubled to improve Stem education to attract young people into engineering, and to retain, motivate and improve the skills of those already in the industry”.
While there is progress in terms of the government setting a policy framework to encourage more pupils into engineering, as yet results are not quite matching this intent, says Ann Watson, chief executive at engineering skills body Semta. "For example, University Technical Colleges are an exciting development, but are being hampered by other schools refusing to make their pupils aware of their existence."
Also, she adds, while sciences have been included in the English Baccalaureate and in the Progress 8 attainment measures to encourage schools to get more pupils into science, it has been done without science teaching being made more relevant to their interests and to the world they live in. Because of that, "young people are less likely to keep up their science studies voluntarily - which is borne out by declining A Level starts," says Watson.
“This is especially important in the case of girls, where we need to do much more to demonstrate how Stem subjects can involve creativity and excitement just as much as arts subjects, if not more so.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) says government is working to get more girls studying Stem subjects and is providing “significant investment” to improve the teaching of Stem subjects.
It has set a goal of a 20% increase in the proportion of girls’ A level entries that are in maths and science by 2020. Revised 2016 results show that the number of girls taking maths A level has increased by 11% (from 28,251 in 2010 to 31,494 in 2016), and those taking physics A level increased by 14% (from 5,852 to 6,652) over the same period.
"Getting more young women choosing Stem subjects will not only ensure our future workforce has the skills we need to drive the future productivity and economy of this country, it will also help us to tackle the gender pay gap by getting more women into these high paid, skilled careers,” says the DfE spokesperson.
DfE run programmes such as the Stimulating Physics Network and the Further Maths Support Programme aim to help schools to improve progression to Stem subjects at A-level, with a particular focus on improving the engagement of girls.
The DfE spokesperson adds that encouraging more people to study Stem subjects and embark upon Stem careers will be a “key part of the government's upcoming Industrial Strategy”.
Find the full report here.