The STEM of employability

24/06/10

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. JFK

Ensuring that today’s pupils are ready for the jobs of tomorrow is a vital part of education and never more so than now. Wednesday’s emergency budget heralds a period of austerity in the UK and, with a job market that many expect to shrink, employability is a crucial issue that seems set to receive continued focus from the Government. The STEM agenda has a truly fundamental part to play in this.

The STEM agenda is not a new initiative by any means but it has been under renewed focus over the past few years. In 2008, the CBI Education & Skills survey reported that nine out of ten firms employ STEM-skilled people but the skills-shortage in the UK means that over a third of larger employers recruit from overseas. With this year’s crop of graduates facing a shortage of jobs, investing time and funds in increasing the next generation’s ability to compete in the international employment market is essential.

It is often said that the strength of the STEM workforce is viewed as an indicator of a nation's ability to sustain itself. The latest gadgets, scientific discoveries and breakthroughs, the latest machinery – all can, and do, drive economies and all rely on a highly skilled and creative STEM workforce. The younger generation is the best natural resource that we have. Embedding the skills necessary for them to discover their talents, then use them to innovate and invent is a vital part of creating the economic certainty that the UK wants so badly. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have the 21^st century’s version of Brunel, Newton or Darwin; someone whose innovation, whose leap of intellect changes the world for the better? With the blistering rate at which technology progresses, I’d love to think it wouldn’t be long before we have the flying (zero emission) cars and the transporter devices of science fiction stories. How proud would we be if Britain led the field? So let’s teach our children about the practical application of science, technology, engineering and maths. Let’s inspire them. If we play the next few decades right in education, their skills and abilities could be the bedrock on which the UK’s financial security can be built.