Technical Education for the 21st Century – Gatsby Conference report

This conference, organised by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Edge Foundation brought together policy-makers and stakeholders to explore how best to meet the current and future demand for STEM skills and, in particular, how to increase the number of science and engineering technicians by improving their status, education and training.

The conference was opened by Lord Sainsbury who welcomed the delegates and then proceeded to spell out why technical education and training are so important, citing figures from employment which identified that the UK is likely to fall short of its workforce target by 2020, due to a lack of necessarily-skilled STEM professionals, which will have a harmful impact on our future economic prosperity.

An interesting talk from Matt Crawford of the University of Virginia followed, during which he drew on his own personal experience as motorbike mechanic and electrician to make the case for the importance of working with your hands, and the enjoyment that can be gained from it. He thought it important that students came to realise that the traditional white-collar job route was not the only option available to them.

Reflecting themes from Lord Sainsbury’s opening address, Chris Humphries (Chief Executive of UK Commission for Employment and Skills) then presented research on future skills needs which highlighted the growing demand for STEM skills and technicians.

Steve Holliday, Chief Executive of National Grid plc, then spoke about the anticipated changes in the economy which are set to drive greater demand for technicians, and how the UK is ill-prepared to meet this coming surge. Holliday particularly referenced the energy industry as one that will need a large number of technicians, due to the considerable growth anticipated in the nuclear and renewable energy sectors. He also introduced the newly-established Technician Council and its aims to help employers highlight technical opportunities and develop standards and initiatives across engineering and other sectors.

Apprenticeships in STEM was the focus for Allan Cook’s talk, he explained some of the barriers that employers encounter when try to set up apprenticeship schemes. Although he recognised that bigger firms find this less of a challenge, he highlighted the fact that smaller businesses are the ones really driving the sector forward and they traditionally do encounter a lot of problems to do with bureaucracy, perceived cost and a lack of staff time to dedicate to apprentices. Cook stressed that it was important to expand the apprenticeship system, but that there could well be difficulties ahead in trying to do so.

Professor Alan Smithers, University of Buckingham, compared the UK’s technical education system to that of its European competitors such as Germany, and highlighted the lack of distinctive post-14 education pathways as a major stumbling block to students being able to pursue varied technical education routes, which in turn, is resulting in the UK’s inability to secure the supply of technicians.

The theme of careers guidance was one that Sir John Holman echoed in his speech, where he outlined the need for better careers information and guidance if the UK is to persuade more talented young people to follow the technician route. Holman explained that teachers often do not fully understand technical routes, so are sometimes uncomfortable advising students on these potential career paths. He also stressed the importance of career advisers and local employers visiting schools and informing them more explicitly about where the jobs are, and what skills are lacking in the local region; Holman believes this could act as ‘strong pull factor into the technician route’.

Lord Baker and Professor Alison Halstead explained the thinking behind the University Technical Colleges initiatives and explained how these schools could play a role in delivering technical education from the age of 14.

In the final session of the day, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willets, commented on the themes that had been highlighted during the conference. During his response, the Minister gave a clear message to the conference that the Government believes there must be a well-defined technical route recognised by young people and employers. He also outlined further plans for apprenticeships and proposed potential measures that he wanted all stakeholders to consider further.

The full conference report featuring summaries of the presentations and roundtable discussions that took place on the day, as well as the background papers that were commissioned to stimulate debate at the conference is available to download below. For copies of the presentations visit www.gatsby.org.uk/techedu.