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Blog post: ajb: Do we need more STEM graduates?

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The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggest that the government should make careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) more attractive and that one method could be to reduce the tuition fees.

More STEM graduates?

 

A CBI/Pearson survey suggests that 42% of UK firms faced difficulties recruiting individuals with STEM skills and knowledge last year.

 

Highly-skilled workers are essential for our growth sectors and it will be those young people with science and maths who will go on to become the engineers and new tech entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Katja Hall, the CBI's chief policy director

 

 

The other side of the coin

Call me skeptic, but my personal observations, as well as talking to others suggests this is simply BS. We don't in fact have enough STEM jobs in the UK as it is!

 

 

Research conducted last year by the employment consultancy Work Communications showed the number of places on all graduate schemes offered by UK employers in all sectors to be 65,000 for the academic year 2012-2013. However, 132,790 UK students graduated with a first degree in STEM subjects in 2011-2012, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

 

As soon as you look at the numbers, it is very hard to justify [claims of] a skills shortage

Marcus Body, head of research at Work Communications

 

Again this is backed up with my own anecdotal observations.

 

Unemployment of STEM graduates

Katherine Sellgren (BBC), in 2011 wrote about Engineering graduates specifically, see here.

 

Nearly a quarter of UK engineering graduates are working in non-graduate jobs or unskilled work such as waiting and shop work, a report suggests.

Katherine Sellgren (BBC)

 

Has the situation changed that drastically in the past couple of years? I doubt it.

 

What is going on?

I have no idea. It seems that we have lots of rather contradictory "evidence" here. One lobbing group says we need more STEM graduates while the unemployment levels and the level of "unsuitable" jobs taken up seems to suggest quite the opposite.

 

The higher up the education tree the worse it gets..

 

Link

Does the UK really need more engineers? Times Education website

 

CBI call to cut tuition fees to end 'skills vacuum'

 

 

 


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