Why?

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Why?

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Mathematics

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Imagine our world..
.without aeronautical engineers
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Imagine our world..
.without civil engineers
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Imagine our world..
.without electronic engineers
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Imagine our world..
.without software engineers
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Warning Over Skills Gap

• The downward trend in the number of students
  that are taking up STEM disciplines is very
  worrying as a skills shortage makes it harder to
  attract new investments here
• Martin Murphy, MD, Hewlett Packard
• Belfast Telegraph 03/11/08

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Programme for Government

• Primary focus on growing the economy
• 80 of foreign direct investment in NI in 2008
  in
• ICT
• Business and Financial Services
• Pharmaceutical Industries
• Aerospace Sectors
• To compete in a global market need to enhance
  uptake of STEM subjects in schools
• Ensure our people have the right skills to
  deliver economic prosperity now and in the future
  and increase skills and career choices in STEM
  subjects (PSA 2Skills for prosperity)

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PSA 2 SKILLS FOR PROSPERITY

• Targets
• Increase by 5 the numbers studying STEM subjects
  in Post 16 cohort by 2011
• Increase by 25 the numbers of students,
  especially those from disadvantaged communities,
  at graduate and postgraduate level studying STEM
  subjects by 2015.

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Urban Myth or Personal Experience?
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STEM Career Perceptions
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Students Views
Limit my career choices
not interesting or enjoyable
too difficult
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PSA 2 SKILLS FOR PROSPERITY

• Actions
• Take steps to increase uptake of STEM subjects
• Highlight STEM Career Opportunities and Pathways
• Increase links with local industry to promote
  STEM
• Ensure learning teaching is planned and
  delivered in a relevant and enjoyable way
• Linking subject content and skills to real life
• (Key Element Employability)

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I want to be a..
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Career Options
Todays students parents are unaware of the
range of STEM related career opportunities
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Suresh Chawla, Theatre Technician
Suresh uses science and maths
laws of physics, to work out how to move heavy
props knowledge of materials properties, to
deduce what to make the set from
Suresh works and communicates with people, such
as lighting engineers, sound engineers, set
designers and set builders
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Need for Imagineers
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Keeping Options Open

• STEM Subjects
• widen options rather than narrow them
• Demand for STEM skilled individuals expected to
  grow dramatically in the future
• Open up career opportunities in other
  occupational sectors
• Develop employability skills (TS PC and CCS)
• often lead to higher paid jobs
• PricewaterhouseCoopers research 2005
• often lead to opportunities to work abroad
• solving environmental issues
• software engineering

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CEIAG STEM

• Up skill CEIAG/STEM Teachers
• Provide up-to-date Labour Market Information in
  regard to STEM related sectors
• Highlight range of possible STEM related career
  pathways
• 95 STEM teachers participating in Teacher into
  Industry Programme
• 18 from BELB schools
• Focus on Key Element of Employability/work
  related learning

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Increase in Demand for STEM Graduates in UK by
2017.
Warwick Institute for Employment Research
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So what about Northern Ireland?

• Forecasting Future Skill Needs in NI
• April 2009

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of Graduates Required by 2020
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Skill requirement 2008-2020
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Implications for Young People

• Less new jobs per annum
• 1996 2008 13,000 per annum
• 2008 2020 5000 per annum
• Increasing demand for STEM subjects
• Growing sectors of the economy will require a
  growing number of STEM graduates and skilled
  labour
• Need to ensure young people
• are aware of full range of potential job
  opportunities
• plan relevant and appropriate career pathways
• leading to sector specific qualifications
• enabling them to progress as far as possible on
  NQF

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Top 40 NI Companies

• Which of the top 40 NI companies have
• predominantly STEM related career opportunities?
• some STEM related career opportunities?
• What might they be?
• What are the top 10 companies? (No of jobs)
• Place in a pyramid 10
• How many are STEM companies?

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• Engineers, Technologists and Scientists at all
  levels are increasingly vital to our long term
  economy. There are excellent opportunities for
  the UK to excel in high-value goods and services
  but we must ensure we have enough skilled
  graduates to make this happen not to mention the
  thousands upon thousands of technicians required
  to support these higher level positions
• Paul Jackson, Chief Executive, ETB

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STEM Jobs

• Examine last weeks job advertisements in the
  local press
• What STEM jobs are being advertised?
• Do your students know these jobs exist and what
  each involves?
• What level of qualifications are required for
  these jobs?

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Key Element

• Employability

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Employability Everyones Responsibility
FOR
THROUGH
ACROSS
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Young people should have opportunities to
Investigate how the skills developed through
Technology and Design will be useful to a wide
range of careers, for example, jobs involving
designing, manufacturing and production in a wide
range of contexts including communications,
construction, engineering, landscape design,
product design, fashion, lifestyle goods, media
etc. Investigate jobs/companies locally, in
which Technology and Design skills are used.
(Key Element Employability)
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Which Sources?
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Planning CPD

• How can we up skill staff to ensure they give
  up-to-date advice in terms of
• subject specific careers
• career pathways
• relevant Post 16/Post 18 courses
• Labour Market Information