Can apprenticeships close the UK’s STEM skills gap?
A lack of workers with the correct STEM skills is reportedly costing the UK economy around £1.5 billion per annum. But could improving and developing STEM apprenticeships be the solution? Apprenticeships are becoming more popular than ever before, which is encouraging. But more still needs to be done to close the STEM skills gap. Perhaps due to their focus on offering hands-on and practical learning processes, apprenticeship programmes are ideally suited to the STEM — science, technology, engineering, and maths — sectors. But is there a way to boost the uptake where STEM apprenticeships are concerned? How big is the problem? To address the shortages, it’s important to understand the scale of it and what the future could hold if not dealt with efficiently. According to a response by the Royal Academy of Engineering, more than half of engineering companies say they have had problems recruiting the experienced engineers they need. Despite what many people may think, workforce ageing does play a significant role in the problem. As skilled and experienced engineers retire, it is increasing vacancies across thousands of engineering roles. Putting a more exact figure on this is EngineeringUK, which — through detailed analysis — has determined that there are annually 29,000 too few workers with level 3 skills and an even greater shortage of more qualified engineers — 40,000 of those with level 4 and above skills. Although we’ve passed the Brexit deadline and are still currently in the European Union, it continues to remain a problem for STEM businesses. As uncertainty remains, the UK’s exit from the European Union could create an even bigger headache for those in STEM sectors. To close the gap, more businesses are looking to become more inclusive. At present, under 10% of the engineering workforce is female, while those from minority ethnic backgrounds make up just 6% of the workforce. But, could apprenticeships be the solution? An insight to apprenticeships across the UK Traditionally, young people would leave school with a job waiting for them. Nowadays, students have a wealth of opportunities to choose from, whether it’s A-levels, BTECs or apprenticeships — and the latter is growing in popularity. Interestingly, over 491k young people started an apprenticeship in 2016-17. Each month, an average of 23,000 apprenticeship opportunities are listed on the government’s Find an Apprenticeship site, while organisations — such as WISE, which campaigns for gender balance in science, technology and engineering — are continually driving initiatives to help grow the number of apprentices in these sectors. However, between May and July 2017, parliamentary statistics show that only 43,600 people began an apprenticeship, which is a 61% reduction from the 113,000 that started in the same period in 2016. This has been largely accredited to an apprenticeship levy that was introduced in April 2017, which every employer with a pay bill of more than £3 million a year must adhere to if they want to employ apprentices. Has this had an impact on STEM-related businesses? Apparently not. In 2016/17, 112,000 people started a STEM apprenticeship — up from 95,000 in 2012/13. This growth is impressive and may be a sign that STEM employers are taking on board the warning that they must be creative with their recruitment processes. “The traditional recruitment pool is diminishing at the same time as work-based learning routes are facing increasing competition from alternative post-16-year-old provision. Employers wishing to attract quality applicants in sufficient numbers to meet their skills requirements have to look beyond their traditional sources” was one comment by Rod Kenyon, former director of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network. Should we be looking at the demographics of those who become apprentices to close in on the gap? Overall, women account for 50% of all apprentices in the UK. However, for STEM apprenticeships, they make up just 8% — encouraging this group of people could be the answer. It’s time to bring women into STEM positions. According to WISE, 5,080 women achieved a Core-STEM apprenticeship in 2016/2017, while 62,060 men accomplished the same in the same period. What makes this statistic even more concerning is that, according to an Apprenticeships in England report published by the House of Commons Library, 54% of overall apprenticeships starts were women in 2016/2017. Evidently, women are opting for apprenticeships in different fields, which means that STEM industries are missing out on thousands of potential workers if they don’t try to make their apprenticeship programmes as attractive to women apprentices as they clearly are to men. Reducing the gap By 2020, the government wants to place three million apprenticeships. Apprenticeships in STEM industries must be advocated and discussed in schools in order to instil a sense of enthusiasm from a younger age. Career advisors should make it clearer to kids that a university degree is not the only avenue to success and that the same level of fulfilment and opportunity is available with STEM apprenticeship programmes. Perhaps this means a stronger relationship between STEM firms and educational establishments, which can grant more opportunities for schoolchildren to get first-hand experience of how these companies work in practice prior to having to make an official decision. There are a lot of incentives for working in this industry too. The Institution of Engineering and Technology, otherwise known as IET, offers around £1 million in prizes, scholarships and awards. Hopefully, positive initiatives like the IET’s will help encourage participation in STEM apprentices and ease the pressure on these sectors’ skills gap – before it’s too late. This article was brought to you by Houghton International, industrial pump repairs specialists.
Avoiding the tech trap
Currently, there is a global movement in education to become smarter. Businesses have been competing to be more digitally intelligent and energy efficient for some time and schools are becoming no different. This shouldn’t mean a tablet computer for every pupil. Instead it means using existing data in new ways: intelligent ways. Here Carl Plant, CEO of digital technology expert bITjAM gives best practice advice for schools looking to become digital leaders. In a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in September 2015, doubts were raised as to the benefit of increased technology in schools. The report stated that students who used computers frequently in school were attaining poorer results than those who used computers infrequently – once or twice a week. The reality is schools can become better at using digital tools even without a considerable investment in new machines or advanced technologies. Instead, the shift requires looking at current issues and implementing simple digital solutions. Using tech in schools should do three things: solve problems (not create them), engage pupils and aid communication. So what current problems do schools face? Save paper, go digital A couple of years ago it was recorded that the average school consumed the equivalent of 74 trees worth of paper a year. When you combine this knowledge with the latest government statistics that state there are just under 25,000 schools in the UK, that’s a considerable effect on the environment and an unnecessary expenditure. Students are largely required to work on paper and will be for the foreseeable future. However, ways to minimise carbon consumption and become more efficient can be sought elsewhere. In secondary schools and colleges, for example, timetables are invaluable to pupils and yet faculties hand them out on pieces of paper – destined to be lost, binned or succumb to wear. By using existing databases in a more intelligent way and tapping into the rising number of tablets and smart phones, schools and colleges can cut down on carbon consumption by taking advantage of technology. bITjAM recently worked with Stoke-on-Trent College to create a timetable app students could access on their smart phones. The app, called Logga, is a smart approach to the traditional problems schools face with paper timetables. Logga allows schools to minimise the amount of paper used, while also engaging students. The app also negates any excuses of pupils claiming to have lost their timetable. In addition, Logga opens up another means of communication between teachers and pupils. Task management features allow notes to be made regarding attendance and achievements, providing pupils, teachers and parents with historical information at the touch of a button. The great news is this app doesn’t require radical technical changes to a school’s IT infrastructure. All the information is currently available, it’s just a matter of using it in a more intelligent way. It sounds obvious, but technology in schools needs to have a practical use and make logical sense. There’s no use kitting out the IT lab with expensive iMacs simply because a budget exists. Track work experience When talking to schools and colleges we’ve come across another common problem to which we’ve created a digital solution. Although no longer compulsory, students are often encouraged to take part in work experience. Unfortunately, few schools have a reliable tracking system for work experience, and even fewer actually give students the tools to put together a relevant and clear CV even before they leave school. With competition for university places and jobs as high as it’s ever been, it’s become just as important to record out of school activities as it is curricular ones. Again, what schools need is a smarter framework in place to keep track of students’ extra-curricular activities, like work experience, Duke of Edinburgh, volunteering and other skills development. bITjAM was recently involved in an EU-funded project conducting research into the core skills gap. What became brutally obvious during this research is that students and businesses alike don’t seem to know what they want when it comes to work experience. To help, we’re developing an app on which students can record all their extracurricular activity. They can then use their digital CV towards employment or UCAS as an accurate portrayal of skills and experience. Businesses can look at this record and make informed decisions when taking on young people for work experience and apprenticeships. This way, technology can open up another means of communication, this time between businesses and potential employees. Using technology in an educational environment doesn’t have to be more of a distraction than a benefit, so long as there are clearly defined goals. By simply looking at existing data in a smarter way, schools and colleges can make a conscious effort to reduce their effect on the environment, minimise costs and increase engagement. Uncoincidentally, these are the same goals driving hospitals, factories, shops and a number of other businesses to become smarter too. It’s really not a matter of whether you take the steps, but when. bITjAM would like to invite schools and colleges to get in touch with their challenges and see how the company can help to implement digital solutions. To get in touch, go to www.bitjam.org.uk.