STEM skills and academic career precarity in the UK
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will hold the fourth evidence session of its inquiry: People and skills in UK science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The session will be focused on apprenticeships in the UK, as well as the shortage of specialist science teachers – especially physics teachers and what the Government could do to address it.
The inquiry so far has heard that there is a significant STEM skills gap in the UK and that more can be done to ensure the workforce is well-trained. This high-skilled workforce is also critical to deliver on key policy objectives such as achieving net zero. We have heard distressing statistics about the Government’s ability to recruit specialist teachers, especially in physics and computing. In the first panel, the Committee will seek perspectives from academics, experts, and members of the Institute for Apprenticeships about UK apprenticeship policy The second panel will focus on the supply of STEM teachers, and what can be done to improve initial teacher recruitment, retention, and retraining to address this deficit.
Meeting details
Possible question areas
- The cause of declining enrolment into apprenticeships
- The value of alternative models of learning, such as degree apprenticeships
- The role that universities, the private sector, and public sector research establishments in helping to train apprentices
- What can be done to address the recruitment and retention issues for STEM teachers
- The educational inequalities introduced by the lack of ability to recruit specialist teachers
- The value of continuing professional development (CPD) in encouraging teachers to remain in post