Professor Danielle George

The government is being urged to support a campaign that hopes to tackle the £1.5bn engineering skills shortage by placing greater emphasis on how engineering can be taught in primary and secondary schools.Tonight, Kevin Burke education consultant, ex-Department of Education and author of the IET’s new report Engineering Kids’ Futures will head to a Parliamentary event at Westminster to remind MPs of the vital importance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects play in supporting the UK economy.It follows an open letter to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson from Professor Danielle George last year that argued the key to delivering on the Government’s ambitions and reinforcing the UK’s position as a science and technology superpower relied on future generations of engineers.The engineering economy accounts for 26% of all UK employment and adds an estimated £645bn to the UK’s annual economy (source: Royal Academy of Engineering November 2022). It is estimated there is a shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the STEM sector: an average of 10 unfilled roles per business in the UK. What is more, 49% of engineering businesses are experiencing difficulties in the skills available to them when trying to recruit (source: IET Skills Survey 2021).David Lakin, Head of Education at The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) believes the engineering skills shortage can only be filled if the UK generates an estimated 59,000 engineers annually. Lakin argues a simple solution to the problem is to “grow your own” workforce with an emphasis on the development of engineering and skills starting at the primary school level, feeding through into secondary education and beyond.It comes as new research from the IET has found just how important the school system is to finding the next generation of engineers with 59% of Dads and 53% of Mums relying solely on the school curriculum for teaching their children about engineering and technology with a further 61% saying they would struggle to explain to their children which careers require engineering and technology qualifications.Furthermore, 64% of parents admit it's been more than ten years since they learnt about engineering or technology so don’t feel they are qualified to pass their knowledge on and 38% also don’t think that the current school curriculum is adequately preparing their children for all available career options.In fact, 69% feel the curriculum doesn't teach real-life skills with engineering and technology (39%) topping the list of subjects that leaves their children least prepared for a career. 69% of parents say it's essential that primary school children are exposed to engineering and technology to spark interest from a young age with a quarter (24%) of parents saying there’s not enough emphasis on Science, Maths and English.Worryingly, 60% of parents also believe schools don't do enough to encourage young girls to consider engineering and technology career options.The IET is now offering the Government some key recommendations to make sure potential scientists, engineers and technicians are not lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.