According to this report on the Coastal West Sussex Local Enterprise Partnership website, “the numbers of West Sussex students choosing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) topics at GCSE and A-Level [is] declining”  It is with this in mind that they are promoting and helping to organise an event called the Big Bang on Thursday at Butlins in Bognor Regis. The website goes on to state “the BigBang fair is a great way for local  businesses and staff from colleges and universities to engage students and help them realise that STEM subjects are far from boring. The aim of the event is to enthuse the next generation to study and build careers in the STEM sector, meet potential employers and develop the tools and techniques that will drive the economy of the future.”

Next week is not only a week when students in West Sussex will have the opportunity to attend events such as the Big Bang, it is also Apprenticeship Week across the UK, so one can only hope that our Government and indeed Parliament as a whole is paying attention to all that is going on across the nation and in the constituencies they are responsible for. The Government Minister responsible for Schools is Nick Gibb who is also the MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton so it would be very concerning if he does not take some time off from the House of Commons to attend the Big Bang Fair taking place in his constituency. No doubt similar events will be taking place in the Guildford area and so Anne Milton as their local MP and the Minister responsible for Apprenticeships must make an effort to do the same.

It would be easy to take the news from the Coastal West Sussex website and treat it as a failing by Schools or even students in the West Sussex area. However one imagines a similar story is taking place across the nation. As this news report from October 2016 explained, a number of A Levels were being withdrawn from the options presented to students across the nation at that time. These included: Electronics; Engineering; Home economics: Food, nutrition and health; Information and communication technology (ICT); Media: Communication and production; Moving image arts; Pure mathematics; Quantitative methods (AS only); Science (AS only); Science in society; Statistics and Use of mathematics (AS only). Every one of these subjects has a clear STEM connection and each one removed closed down an option for some students who today would be nearing the point when they consider what job, degree or apprenticeship (or a mix of all three) is the right one for them. Of course as Nick Gibb would explain, the loss of these A Levels is intended to create space for some new exams called T Levels which back in 2016 were due to be emerging this year. However the inevitable slippage when Governments attempt to change things has occurred and most of the T levels will not start until 2022! This means that there will be at least a 4 year gap when STEM subjects will become poorly supported in Schools.

The problem lying behind the lack of STEM subjects being studied leads onto the huge challenge being faced by the industry I am part of, which was identified back in 2013 by the Governments Chief Scientific Adviser at the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The report by Professor John Perkins was referred to in this piece a year later in the Daily Telegraph which explained “Every year, the UK faces a shortfall of over 81,000 people with engineering skills in the workforce. As things stand, that means we need to double the number of entrants into engineering across all levels of qualification”. Whilst I don’t disagree with John Perkins, based on my own experience of engineering and that of the Company which I am part of, which will be in attendance at the Big Bang in Bognor Regis, the need for qualifications in such subjects is less significant than the need for an interest and skills in the subject. Our Company struggles to obtain access to apprenticeships and training for our technicians and engineers as they progress through their work life. If we were a large multinational, no doubt we would be able to provide all this in house, but as one of the majority of businesses in the South East, we are an SME and as such need the Government to understand how we work so they can structure apprenticeships and courses around a much more flexible, silo free mentality than at present. Having spoken to the senior staff in other SMEs in our area, this is not a concern limited to our industry or our business. However it is not something the Government appears interested in, preferring instead to focus on the needs of the big businesses like Carillion and Serco, Virgin and Rolls Royce whose Directors get plenty of easy access to Ministers and who are well capable of making demands of local educational bodies without the help of the Government.