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Report puts STEM subjects at top priority

bdaily’s unplanned ‘science lesson week’ continues, this time with the UK’s science skills council weighing in on the country’s lack of important science and technology knowledge

This week sees the launch of Cogent Sector Skills Council’s latest Research Report, Skills for Science Industries: Skills at Work. Cogent is the SSC for the pharmaceuticals, chemicals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymer industries.

This latest report provides an analysis of the extent to which the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills needs of these science-using industries are being met.

In the report Cogent presents the concept of the “Skills Factory” - a stock and flow model of the workforce where the “stock” is the current and projected level of level of employment in the sector and the “flow” is the rate of people in and out of the sector.

The report states that the sector is changing from a ‘resource-intensive’ to a ‘knowledge-intensive’ industry, dependent upon highly skilled, technology-literate workers. However, the number of young people who have these practical STEM skills entering the Cogent industries is not meeting the anticipated demand.

Cogent’s CEO, Joanna Woolf said: “[The report] will further determine how both public and private investment in skills can bring the very best returns for these high-value industries which we all depend on for our quality of life.”

Cogent suggest that alternative sources of skills are required to meet demand, including a focus on upskilling and re-skilling the current workforce, as well as initiatives to attract more entrants.

The report is available via a microsite dedicated to the research: http://skillsreport.cogent-ssc.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .