Girls: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Lord Hampton Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I am somewhat disappointed that the noble Lord, Lord Baker, is not in his place because he would, I am sure, stand up to talk about university technical colleges. The work they are doing is a real template, and it just proves that, given the right opportunities, the right background and the right culture, women can excel at everything, as we heard earlier today.

[Lord Hampton (CB)]

My Lords, it is me again; apologies. Four days in a row—and I think noble Lords all know my profession. STEM/STEAM, girls/boys: there is a bigger picture here. Every student, every young person, should be guided to their full potential so that they can become the workers of the future to the best of their ability, whether it be as social workers or engineers, whether they be boys or girls, whether they be female submarine commanders. Does the Minister agree that, alongside excellent education, you need excellent careers education? I would like to hear what the Government are thinking about that.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I completely agree. The DfE funds the Careers & Enterprise Company, which works with 20 sector bodies and much wider. I emphasise the need for every school to take up the requirement for a qualified careers adviser to speak to every child in their school. One of the most heartbreaking experiences I have had is going to a careers fair with incredible companies there offering opportunities, and young people being absolutely astounded and saying, “We never imagined these companies would be interested in us”. There is a huge job to do in building confidence, and I believe that we are putting the steps in place to achieve that.