East Midlands

Introducing the region

The East Midlands is made up of six counties: Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire – which are home to 4.4 million people. Positioned at the centre of England, the region includes the Peak District National Park and Sherwood Forest.


Aeroplane

Snapshot: STEM business and industry in the region

The East Midland’s economy is diverse, with world-leading companies in markets including Electronics, Engineering, Food & drink and Pharmaceuticals – BioCity Nottingham is the UK’s largest bioscience innovation centre.

Within Europe, the region has one of the highest concentrations of aerospace companies, accounting for 15% of the UK aerospace industry with 25,000 employers in this sector. The National Space Centre based in Leicester helps to promote careers across the space industry.

The region contributes over 6% of the UK’s Gross Value Added.


Major STEM sectors and top employers

Aerospace – Systems Engineering Innovation Centre (SEIC), ALSTOM, Thales , Rolls-Royce plc, East Midlands Airport, Bombardier

Automotive – Toyota, Bowler Off Road, Noble, Triumph, Norton Motorcycles, Siemens Industrial Turbo Machinery

Biomedical – BioCity Nottingham, AstraZeneca, 3M Healthcare, Trudell Medical International, Reckitt Benckiser, Boots UK

Financial & professional – Totemic

Nuclear & scientific – National Space Centre, Intelligent Energy, 4energy

Food & drink – Campbell’s, Carlsberg, Griffith Laboratories, Pepsico, Alpro


Looking forward

The CBI annual skills report (2010) identified 59% of employers as having difficulties in recruiting STEM-skilled employees. In 2008, Semta (the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies) looked forward to 2014 and reported skills gaps in the workforce, which offer opportunities for STEM-skilled individuals in the East Midlands:

  • The East Midlands accounts for 9% of all Engineering employment and 9% of all Engineering establishments in the UK, employing 115,100 people in 6,260 establishments.
  • The largest sectors in terms of employment are metal products, mechanical equipment, aerospace and automotive.
  • 9% of Engineering establishments in the East Midlands employ less than 50 people.
  • 17% of Engineering establishments in the East Midlands reported skill gaps, which was slightly lower than the proportion within UK Engineering (21%).
  • Employers in the East Midlands expected skills gaps for operators, technicians and professionals would have the most significant effect on their business.
  • The main skills cited as lacking in employees were technical and engineering skills at all levels; 68% of those Engineering establishments in the East Midlands reporting skill gaps.
  • The three main technical skills gaps for the Engineering sector in the East Midlands were CNC machine operations, assembly line/production robotics and materials requirement planning skills (MRP).
  • The generic skills gaps highlighted were key or core personal skills (10%), management skills (10%), IT/computer skills (4%) and marketing or selling skills (4%).
  • Together with changes in skill requirements, qualifications demanded by employers are likely to change, with an increasing requirement for intermediate and higher level qualifications. Over the period 2008-2014 there is expected to be a net requirement within the Engineering industry in the East Midlands for about 4,500 people at NVQ Level 2, 5,100 people at NVQ Level 3, 4,600 at NVQ Level 4 and about 1,100 at NVQ Level 5 or above.

Further information is available from the Semta Engineering Skills Balance Sheet.


STEM education support infrastructure

Several organisations are working to support the development of STEM skills in the East Midlands. This team includes:

The East Midlands STEM Partnership
The voice of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and business communities in the region. Links to regional businesses, networks and information on regional STEM awards.

NCETM
Professional development for mathematics teachers.

Science Learning Centre East Midlands
Professional development for science teachers.
Director: Sue Bull, slcem@le.ac.uk.

STEMNET
Enhancement and enrichment – creating opportunities to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Regional Director: Cathy Brown, Cathy.Brown@stemnet.org.uk.

IOP
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics.
Regional Officer: David Wilkinson, david.wilkinson@iop.org.

HE STEM Programme
Supporting Higher Education Institutions in encouraging the exploration of new approaches to recruiting students and delivering programmes of study within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Regional Director: Kamel Hawwash, k.i.m.hawwash@bham.ac.uk.

LSIS STEM Programme
Supporting the national STEM agenda with a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in the FE and skills sector.
Regional STEM Champions: Martin Killeen, martin.killeen@loucoll.ac.uk, Janet Ruffoni, janet.ruffoni@loucoll.ac.uk, Paul Hubbard, paul.hubbard@loucoll.ac.uk.

ESERO-UK - the UK space education office
Using space to enhance and support STEM teaching and learning in the UK.
Regional Space Ambassador: Anu Ojha, anuo@spacecentre.co.uk.