Yorkshire & the Humber

Introducing the region

Yorkshire & the Humber is made up of five counties: North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire – which are home to 5.2 million people. The region includes part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the North Yorkshire Moors.


Wind turbines

Snapshot: STEM business and industry in the region

Last year the government announced a multi-million pound investment into the region’s manufacturing industry, making Yorkshire & the Humber the heart of the UK’s energy sector. A new Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is currently being developed in the region, which is due for completion by November 2011.

Priority sectors include Advanced Engineering and Materials (AEM) and Healthcare Technologies. Yorkshire & the Humber is also the UK’s largest food-producing region, employing 18% of the sector’s workforce.

In the last 12 months, the region has attracted 147 overseas investors, which is the highest number ever recorded.

The region contributes 7% of the UK's Gross Value Added.


Major STEM sectors and top employers

Advanced Engineering and Materials – Forgemasters, Corus, Outo Kumpu, Newburgh Engineering, Davy Markham

Aerospace – Wesco Aircraft, Aircraft Instruments, Aircraft & Commercial Tools, ATI Allvac, Marshall Aerospace, BAE Systems

Biomedical – Meddserve

Financial & professional – LSL, YFM Group, Finance Yorkshire

Chemicals – BASF, Syngenta, BOC, Brotherton Speciality Products, Clariant, ABB, Arch UK Biocides, James Robinson, Smith and Nephew Research Centre, VEOLIA

Digital & creative – Esteem Systems

Nuclear & scientific – Life CIC, National Metals Technology Centre

Envirnonmental Technologies – Emerging Industries including Offshore Wind, Carbon Capture and Storage, Biomass, Healthcare Technolgies, Biorefinery

Food & drink – Premier Foods


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 that offer opportunities for STEM-skilled individuals in Yorkshire & the Humber:

  • Yorkshire & the Humber accounts for 9% of all Engineering employment and 10% of all Engineering establishments in the UK, employing 118,900 people in 6,780 establishments.
  • The largest sectors in terms of employment are metal products, mechanical equipment and automotive.
  • 98% of Engineering establishments in Yorkshire & the Humber employ less than 50 people.
  • 21% of Engineering establishments in Yorkshire & the Humber reported skills gaps, the same as the proportion within UK Engineering (21%).
  • Employers in Yorkshire & the Humber expected skills gaps for technicians, professionals and operators 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; 65% of those Engineering establishments in Yorkshire & the Humber reporting skills gaps.
  • The three main technical skills gaps for the Engineering sector in Yorkshire & the Humber were CNC machine operations, materials requirement planning (MRP) and general engineering skills.
  • The generic skills gaps highlighted were key or core personal skills (15%), management skills (6%), IT/computer skills (5%) 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 Yorkshire & the Humber for about 5,500 people people at NVQ Level 2, 6,500 people at NVQ Level 3, 4,900 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 Yorkshire & the Humber. This team includes:

NCETM
Professional development for mathematics teachers.

National Science Learning Centre
Professional development hub for science teachers; as well as running courses at the Centre, it is also the administrative hub for the full Network of Science Learning Centres across the rest of the UK.
Director: Yvonne Baker, enquiries@national.slcs.ac.uk.

Science Learning Centre Yorkshire and the Humber
Professional development for science teachers.
Director: John Wardle, enquiries@yorkshumber.slcs.ac.uk.

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

IOP
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics.
Regional Officer: Alex Brabbs, alex.brabbs@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: Nazira Karodia, N.Karodia@Bradford.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 Champion: Ken Fielding, ken.fielding@northlindsey.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: Allan Clements, a.clements@nationalstemcentre.org.uk.

Yorkshire Forward
The Regional Development Agency for Yorkshire & the Humber.