A ‘golden carrot’ bursary of £1,000 a year should be given to science and engineering undergraduates as part of a five point plan to double the proportion of students taking these subjects, the CBI said today (Monday).
Ahead of this summer’s exam results, the UK’s biggest business group warned that urgent action is needed to reverse a decades-long decline in the study of science, technology, engineering and maths ('STEM') subjects and meet the needs of a changing UK economy.
The CBI's five point plan proposes action across the schools and universities system to get more young people interested in science, and help deliver the 2.4m STEM-qualified staff needed by 2014. It wants to see:
- The brightest 40% of 14-year-olds automatically opted into separate physics, chemistry and biology GCSE courses instead of the stripped-down science now studied by most. Just 8% of 16-year-olds currently take three science GCSEs.
- £120m of new funding to pay for one-to-one careers advice at ages 14, 16 and 18, which will help challenge misperceptions about science and engineering degrees. The CBI says companies also need to take further steps to encourage young people into these careers.
- Better-equipped school science labs. A quarter of labs are unsafe or unsatisfactory according to the Royal Society of Chemistry, yet much of the £200m allocated by the government to solve this remains unspent.
- More specialist science teachers to inspire youngsters. Currently, one in four schools for 11- to 16-year-olds do not have a specialist physics teacher. Whilst new £5,000 'golden hello' payments are starting to increase the number of science graduates training as teachers, more resources are needed.
- Bursaries for STEM students worth £1000 per year towards their tuition fees - at a total cost of around £200m a year - to reflect the importance of these skills to the UK economy.
The CBI believes that action in each of these areas could increase to 25% the proportion of A-Level students taking at least two sciences or a science with maths, and double the percentage of STEM students at university from the current 13%. Meeting these targets would help deliver the 2.4m newly-qualified staff with STEM skills that CBI analysis shows are needed by 2014.
Since 1984 the number of people studying physics A-level has slumped by 57%, and take-up of chemistry has dropped by 28%. While there was a welcome rise in applications to study these subjects at university this year, the long-term trend has been worrying, with the proportion graduating in physics and chemistry falling by 25% between 1994 and 2006.
Businesses fear that many young people are unaware of the higher earning potential and rewarding careers that STEM skills can unlock. Starting salaries in the science sector average £23,000 a year, against a £19,000 average for graduates across all sectors - while over their lifetimes, chemistry and physics graduates can expect to earn at least £60,000 more than other graduates.
Science and engineering companies are already struggling to fill posts: 80% of engineering or industrial companies, and 67% of energy, water or utility companies expect a shortfall in overall graduate recruits this year.
Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said:
“Too many potential scientists and engineers are abandoning these subjects at an early stage in their lives and missing out on rewarding, varied and lucrative career options.
“Some employers are already finding it difficult to get the right talent, and the problem is set to get worse. The UK cannot compete with the developing world on low-skilled jobs, so to thrive in the global market we must excel in the higher-skilled roles that demand expertise and innovation.
“Bursaries towards the cost of degrees which are most useful to the economy could kick-start thousands of young people into reconsidering a future in science. A thousand pounds a year towards tuition fees, combined with a better-paying job at the end, could see STEM graduates clearing their student loans years earlier.
“Bursaries can only be one part of the fix though. The problems start much earlier with a pared-back science curriculum, a lack of specialist teachers, and patchy classroom lab facilities. The good news is that the government recognises the issues and is making changes to ensure more children get inspired by science - but it needs to step up the pace."
He continued:
“Many science, engineering and technology companies are heavily engaged in efforts to attract more young people into science, but we face a huge challenge and business has to do more.
"In some areas of manufacturing, misconceptions about working conditions and uncertain career progression have put some would-be candidates off, and a belief remains amongst many young women that these are all-male industries. Young people are shrewd, and businesses need to be out there in the secondary schools system challenging perceptions and making clear that these aren't fantasy jobs but genuinely great opportunities with the promise of highly fulfilling careers.
"Alongside this, earlier and more relevant careers advice is needed to awaken young people to the potential of STEM subjects. Science is not boring or too hard, nor is it irrelevant to a service-led economy. It is more likely to get you a well-paid and interesting job. And the door is still open to pursue a career in the City and beyond, because many employers value the intellectual and analytical firepower of a STEM degree.”
Andrew Duff, Chief Executive of leading UK energy firm RWE npower, said:
"RWE npower - like our industry as a whole - is crying out for people with expertise in the STEM subjects. We have just announced a £1.7bn investment programme in new cleaner gas and wind power, including offshore wind, and we need a flow of scientists, mathematicians and engineers to continue to deliver these projects.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for young people looking to take up these subjects. We need new talented employees who can help technology evolve to meet people's lifestyle needs, and who are prepared to be in the frontline of the battle against climate change. The solution is a concerted effort by schools, government and industry to inspire young people into STEM related careers."
Graham Love, CEO of global defence technology and security business QinetiQ, one of the largest recruiters of STEM graduates in the country, said:
"STEM skills are vital to our commercial success and should be of great concern to us all because they underpin our ability to tackle some of the greatest global challenges we face. At QinetiQ we have seen the number of applications per graduate vacancy halve in the last five years and concerns about future skill levels resonate across the defence and aerospace sector.
"QinetiQ employees act as real life ambassadors going into schools to show by example that STEM careers are rewarding, and we believe both industry and government have key roles to play in inspiring our next generation of scientists and engineers."
The CBI is pleased the government has recognised the need to tackle the STEM skills shortfall, and says progress is being made under the Ten Year Science & Investment Framework. However it argues that further action and more urgency is required given the scale of the challenge.
Employers have been encouraged by a rise in applications to STEM degrees this year: maths increased by 9.8% on 2006, and physics by 12.1%. However, it is unclear whether this reflects students placing greater focus on their employment and earning potential in the face of tuition fees, or whether it is a blip against a long-running trend.