Cut cost of STEM courses to boost economy, says CBI

- Colleges and universities to set and report on gender diversity targets to boost women’s participation in key subjects like physics and maths, modelled on Lord Davies’ targets for getting women on the boards of major companies

- Using UK Commission for Employment and Skills funding in key sectors to help companies retrain older workers in STEM shortage areas.

“Growth and jobs in the future will depend on the UK having a workforce that can exploit new technologies and discoveries,” said Katja Hall, the CBI’s chief policy director. “The growing skills vacuum is threatening the recovery, as demand from firms is outstripping supply.

“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.”

Ms Hall also called on the Government to investigate how to cut the cost STEM subject courses but said the biggest issue was the lack of skilled technicians.

She said: “We do have to play a long game on skills, creating more apprenticeships, but we also need policies for the short-term, including retraining existing workers with in-demand skills in key sectors.”

Engineering our Future also claims that unless the value of STEM qualifications and jobs is flagged up and more routes to such careers are created – especially for women – businesses will continue to struggle in their recruitment, potentially threatening the economy.

The report also highlights research showing that STEM-based jobs are relatively well-paid at all skill levels across the country in comparison to non-STEM positions.

Ms Hall added: “Employees with the right skills to work in areas like medicine, engineering and computer science also tend to have higher earnings on average than those who don’t.

“The Davies Review has had an impact in the boardroom, now we need a similar focus on the classroom. There is a shameful gender gap in science and technology so we need to transform society’s ideas of the choices women have in their careers.”

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