Earlier this year the Gatsby Charitable Foundation funded a short review of STEM careers, led by Professor Sir John Holman. A report on the review has now been published, and is available to download from the left-hand side of this page.

The review covers provision of STEM careers education, information, advice and guidance in England, and focuses on secondary and further education, although one of the report’s recommendations is the need to commence careers related work from an early age.

The evidence base for the report comprises:·         A literature review drawing on UK and international studies·         Nineteen interviews with key stakeholders in the careers guidance profession and STEM community·         Meetings with the Skills Minister John Hayes MP and senior officials in The Department for Education
(DfE) and The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)·         An online survey of the STEM and careers guidance communities, with 105 respondents representing
95 institutions·         Two workshops, one for educators and careers professionals, and one for employers.The report makes 15 recommendations for improving access by students and their parents to high quality information and guidance on STEM careers. Some of the recommendations are to the Government and its agencies, some to the careers guidance profession, some to the STEM community and some to independent funders.


The National STEM Centre eLibrary is home to the STEM Subject Choice and Careers resources produced by the Department for Education as part of the STEM Programme.

 

The new STEM Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Pack went live today (1^st April 2009). This guide has a huge amount of information and resources to help careers professionals in the promotion of STEM subjects and careers. It has lots of useful information on current and future trends in STEM careers, learning routes and pathways and the enhanced earning power of following a STEM route. There are also ideas on how to communicate the key messages to young people, including activities you can take straight from the pack. 

The guide includes a case study on the UK space industry by Anu Ojha, Director of Education and Space Communications at the National Space Centre and Project Director of the Space Academy Programme. 

This pack is part of the DCSF STEM Careers Awareness Campaign which has four strands: communications campaign, Furturemorph website, careers awareness resources and careers awareness timeline. My blog dated 6 February 2009 gives an overview of this campaign.

Click here for the new STEM Careers IAG Pack.

You may be aware of some recent adverts in various media encouraging young people to consider science and maths and to ‘see where they can take you’.

These are part of the STEM Careers Awareness Campaign which is being delivered by the DCSF and its partners. This campaign comprises a range of initiatives to improve STEM careers awareness and uptake and is aimed at students, parents, teachers and IAG providers.

The campaign is in response to Action Programme 8 of the National STEM Programme: ‘All young people to be made aware of STEM career opportunities and well prepared to develop skills needed to pursue them.’

The careers campaign has four initiatives:

1. Integrated communication campaign, including the adverts and www.scienceandmaths.net 
   
2. Future Morph website www.futuremorph.org for 11 to 19 year olds.
   
3. Careers awareness resources, providing support to schools, teachers, careers education and IAG professionals in the form of online tools.
   
4. Careers awareness timeline, designed to establish a more coherent structure for young people to learn about careers relating to science and maths during KS3.

The STEM Careers Awareness Stakeholder Guide gives an update on the campaign.