AQW 16047/17-22
Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry
Tabled Date: 09/03/2021
Answered On Date: 24/06/2021
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail (i) the methods that will be used to attract more students in general and female students in particular, to study STEM subjects at local universities; and (ii) the discussions she has had, and intends to have, with the Minister of Education in relation to encouraging more students to study STEM subjects at local universities.
Answer:
On 26th May, I launched a consultation on a new Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland, ‘Skills for a 10x Economy’, aligned to the principles set out in my economic vision, ‘A 10x Economy’. The Skills Barometer for Northern Ireland provides a clear guide to the skills we require to maximise our potential. Delivering the skills needed under its ‘high growth scenario’ is adopted as the marker for the strategic objectives which will support our economic vision. The Barometer highlights the need for increased participation in STEM subjects, to underpin our future economic success and indicates that there are significant imbalances across higher level skills, with some of the largest undersupply predicted in STEM subjects. Whilst work is yet to be done on developing specific metrics - subject to consultation on these proposals – it is proposed that our targets will focus on: increasing the proportion of individuals leaving Northern Ireland higher education institutions with degrees and post-graduate qualifications in ‘in-demand’ STEM subjects, including: physical, environmental and computer sciences, engineering and mathematics; At degree and post-graduate levels, the primary challenge for Northern Ireland is to increase the number of individuals entering the labour market with qualifications in STEM, particularly in the ‘narrow STEM’ fields: physical, environmental and computer sciences, engineering and mathematics. Success in this area is crucial to our economic vision. Underpinning this, we need to develop a rich pipeline of talent, increasing the number of individuals who choose to study STEM subjects at degree level. The Department has made Northern Ireland’s universities aware of this undersupply, and they have taken measures to rebalance their provision, with the result that enrolments and qualifications in STEM subjects have been increasing over the past number of years. There are a number of ongoing projects which relate to the STEM challenge including: ‘Women in STEM’, which seeks to address the significant under-representation in these areas of study; The joint DE/DfE ‘Transition of Young People into Careers (14 – 19) Project’; The Review of HE in FE; and The ‘Independent Review of Education’, announced by the Minister of Education in December 2020. As set out in MATRIX’s ‘Women in STEM’ Position Paper the number of females choosing to study STEM subjects beyond GCSE level is a particular concern as we develop our 10x Economy. A cross-government Working Group has been established to develop a Women in STEM Action Plan. Building on the paper’s recommendations, it is considering the major factors which constrain the supply of females into STEM study and careers right across the education and career pathway, with the objective of having Northern Ireland ‘STEM Ready’ by 2030. This work will be fully recognised within the Skills Strategy, including the embedding of emerging actions within future skills action plans. This is reflected in Proposed Commitment 9 of the consultation document: Recommendations emerging from the Women in STEM Working Group will be fully recognised in the Skills Strategy and subsequent skills action plans. I will continue to work with my colleague in the Department of Education to progress this important piece of work.
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