The government is looking to raise the school leaving age to 18, a proposal that has been met with mixed reactions. Some believe this would be quite counter-productive for those with little or no aspiration to enter higher learning institutions, whereas others think it could be a positive step towards improving life chances and economic success.
Earlier this year, the Royal Academy of Engineering, which believes that more needs to be done to encourage the study of science and mathematics post-16, commissioned a poll of 500 members of the public to get their views on this topic. More than half (56%) thought that young people should be able to leave the education system at or before the age of 16, while just 44% agreed that the school leaving age should be raised from the present 16.
According to the Academy’s director of education, Matthew Harrison, extending the school leaving age is crucially important. He emphasises the need to encourage more young people to study mathematics and science post-16 – subjects that are the foundation of a further education in science and engineering. Unfortunately, he says, far too many students currently choose not to study mathematics and science at A-level.
Some 44% of respondents to the Academy’s survey believe the relatively poor take-up of science and mathematics post-16 is simply down to the difficulty of the subjects, while a smaller proportion of the poll (17%) think that careers in science and engineering are under-remunerated. Mr Harrison says that such “myths and misconceptions” needed dispelling. Science and engineering are “challenging” rather than “difficult”, he says, and such subjects lead to “well remunerated, creative and satisfying careers”.
That may be so, but the “challenge” facing institutions like the RAE and the wider engineering community is how to reverse the inexorable plunge in popularity amongst young school leavers and university entrants of a career in science and engineering. A good example of the critical nature of science and engineering recruitment is illustrated by the government’s ambitious plans for revitalising the UK’s nuclear power sector, with aspirations for new plants to be fully operational by 2020. According to Prospect, the union of science and engineering professionals, well over 50% of the technical workforce that will be expected to achieve these goals will actually be retired in 15 years time, with far too few currently in relevant academic studies to fill their shoes.
A little over a quarter of respondents to the Academy’s survey believed that there was a shortage of good teachers of science and engineering, and that there is a distinct lack of role models to promote the subjects to young people. Well, it has not been without trying.
There are no shortages of schemes or science and engineering ‘ambassadors’ working hard to reverse the trend amongst bright young people to shun a career in science and engineering for more ‘glamorous’ and potentially higher-paying occupations. The professions, their institutions, countless quangos – the clever acronyms abounding – all have played their part. And, it must be said, so has the government through its various agencies and partnerships with industry bodies. A good example is the science and engineering clubs scheme for schools; unveiled in the 2006 Budget, this is set to double in size this year as funding is put in place for 500 such clubs around the country. Last summer, the CBI called upon government to set up a “golden carrot” bursary of £1,000 per year for science and engineering undergraduates to boost the numbers of students taking these subjects. CBI director general, Richard Lambert says that such bursaries would help “kick start” thousands of young people into reconsidering a future in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). A thousand pounds a year towards tuition fees, combined with a better-paying job at the end, he said, could see STEM graduates clearing their student loans years earlier than their counterparts in other professions.
But both government and industry needs to sharpen its collective act if we are to deliver the mind-boggling 2.4 million newly qualified individuals with STEM skills that the CBI believes must be in place by 2014 if we are to maintain this country’s economic well-being.
Les Hunt
Editor