There is an urgent political priority to reverse the decline in the number of scientists.   It is imperative that we capture students’ interest early on if we are to build the supply of newly qualified graduates.

 

Two reports published last autumn – the Conservatives’ STEM report followed by Lord Sainsbury’s review of government science policy – recognised the centrality of the UK’s science base to future economic needs.

 

Both reports presented an exciting vision for the future of UK science:  high-tech clusters, university spin out companies, and greater levels of knowledge transfer between industry and academia.

 

Yet none of these goals are even remotely achievable without an adequate supply of qualified scientists and sufficient demand for science courses throughout the education system.

 

On both counts, there is cause for concern.

 

A Level entries for biology, chemistry, physics and maths were all lower in 2006 than they were in 1997. This is compounded by a retention crisis among science teachers.  As Lord Sainsbury has reported, almost half of all physics teachers leave within the first five years of teaching.

Although university enrolments in the key sciences appear to be stabilising, there is still a long way to go.  A panel of the world’s leading scientists has concluded that, by 2020, computer science will be a prerequisite for all scientific research.  But undergraduate enrolments in computer science have declined for five consecutive years.  Ministers are allowing a skills shortage to develop in our labour market that exposes a worrying lack of foresight.

 

There are also concerns at the international level.  The latest OECD survey of school science showed British slipping from fourth to around fifteenth place.  Today, 36 per cent of undergraduates study for science and engineering degrees in the UK compared with nearer 60 per cent in China.

There could be many ways to re-enthuse young people with science.  More experiments, a greater emphasis on extra-curricular activities, and perhaps ‘science spearheads’ in primary schools are all worth consideration.  It is possible that the continued study of some design and technology to the age of 16 could broaden STEM-related subjects through GCSE.

 

But it is, perhaps, careers advice that is most in need of reform.  Students enjoy considerable freedom to ‘drop’ subjects early on, but it is far from clear that they receive effective or informed guidance when planning their careers. 

 

The existing provision of careers advice is offered too late and often provided by individuals with only limited knowledge of STEM subjects and the wider job market.  While the Department for Children, Schools and Families rigorously controls who can and can’t be a teacher, it collects no information on the educational backgrounds of school careers advisers.  For a discipline such as engineering, which is not directly taught in schools, there may be no guidance at all.  This is an alarming situation when pupils who drop a science subject at 14 cannot usually choose a science A Level thereafter!

 

Choice must be backed up with up-to-date information on the job market, effective in-school guidance and timely advice from careers advisors. 

 

Students need more information about the demand for STEM qualifications from employers, and about the likely salary a STEM graduate will command at various stages of their career.  As the Institute of Physics has shown, qualified physicists can command salaries well above the UK average.  Perhaps if students were to hear that message, STEM subjects might enjoy instantly greater appeal.

 

The future of science education in the UK could be an exciting one, and I want British students to take full advantage of it.  Information, advice and guidance are central to that ambition.  And I look forward to our party making some policy announcements in these areas during the course of this year.

 

We must trust our students to make the right choices for themselves based on their abilities and interests and, perhaps above all, based on the reality of the current job market.   Student advice and student choice – the two must go hand in hand.