EngineeringUK has today (23 July) launched a new report which explores the trends in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education participation and attainment leading into engineering careers.
The Engineering UK 2020 Educational Pathways into Engineering Report, written in March 2020, indicates that progress has been made – more young people are studying the GCSE and A level subjects that lead into engineering, while technical education reforms are also enabling students to be more prepared for the world of work.
However, young people’s knowledge of engineering across all education stages still needs to be improved with just 42% of boys and 31% of girls saying they know what they need to do next to become an engineer.
The findings show there is also an acute shortage of STEM subject teachers in both secondary and further education. Almost three quarters of further education college principals rank engineering as the most difficult subject in which to recruit sufficiently qualified teaching staff.
The report also highlights the increased urgency of creating more opportunities for underrepresented groups in engineering, including those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds whose challenges are likely to be accentuated by school computer science vs information technology. There is also a need to address inequities for young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with black pupils 2.5 times more likely to be misallocated to a lower set in maths than white pupils.
The Engineering UK 2020 Educational Pathways into Engineering Report, written in March 2020, indicates that progress has been made – more young people are studying the GCSE and A level subjects that lead into engineering, while technical education reforms are also enabling students to be more prepared for the world of work.
However, young people’s knowledge of engineering across all education stages still needs to be improved with just 42% of boys and 31% of girls saying they know what they need to do next to become an engineer.
The findings show there is also an acute shortage of STEM subject teachers in both secondary and further education. Almost three quarters of further education college principals rank engineering as the most difficult subject in which to recruit sufficiently qualified teaching staff.
The report also highlights the increased urgency of creating more opportunities for underrepresented groups in engineering, including those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds whose challenges are likely to be accentuated by school computer science vs information technology. There is also a need to address inequities for young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with black pupils 2.5 times more likely to be misallocated to a lower set in maths than white pupils.
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