Higher Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Science and Technology Committee Report

Baroness Sharp of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sharp of Guildford]

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Willis for an excellent report. I am a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology at the moment, but I was not a member when this report was produced, nor was I a contributor to it.

It is timely for us to have this report now given that we have just considered the Budget and the need for growth has become very apparent. Yet one of the key elements that we see in growth these days—this was spelt out at some length in the Government’s growth strategy, which was produced by BIS in the past year—is the need to depend upon science and technology industries. However, we need to rebalance the economy away from consumption and towards investment, away from services and towards manufacturing, and away from low-tech areas and towards high-tech areas. In their strategy for growth, for example, the Government have given considerable emphasis to sectors such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing and life sciences.

Sustainable growth is also going to mean more for less. It will mean that we have to increase productivity substantially, and if we are going to increase productivity then we will have to increase the number of skilled and highly qualified members of the workforce; it is well known that the higher the skill level, the higher the levels of productivity. Yet the CBI skills survey estimates that around 42% of employers are reporting shortages in STEM skills. The survey by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Big Innovation Centre, mentioned by my noble friend, estimated that by 2020 the UK would need around 104,000 new graduates in STEM areas every year. This compares to around 80,000 being produced at the moment, so there will be a shortfall of something in the region of 40,000 graduates every year with regard to needs.

Similarly, a recent study from MORI shows that we need around 87,000 graduates each year with at least level 4 skills, the HND level, in engineering. This compares with the figures that we have for 2009-10—incidentally, this is interesting with regard to what my noble friend Lord Willis said about HESA—because the most up to date figures that we have for the number of graduates that we are producing in the area of engineering are around 21,000. It became clear from the report that one can argue about the precise figures, but the general message is that we need more young people to take up science and technology subjects in our universities. That in turn means that many more young people have to think about science and technology when they are in school.

One of the most appalling statistics that I came across in the documents that I looked at in preparation for this debate was that only 20% of those who get good grades at GCSE in science pursue science through to A-level. If we are going to increase the number of those moving on to university, we have to increase the numbers at A-level, and there is a large number of people who could do that. Why do so few of those taking science as part of their GCSEs go on to take those subjects at A-level? One reason has already been touched upon by my noble friend: mathematics. Many students in our schools, for some reason or another, find mathematics difficult. In particular, our teaching of mathematics at secondary school seems to be deficient. At the age of 10, our best young people are as good as their international comparators, but by the time they get to 16 they have fallen behind by something like two years.

My own feeling is that the Government’s response to this by introducing the EBacc, and therefore putting a lot of emphasis not only on maths at GCSE but on having a reasonably broad range of subjects, including science, is helpful, and perhaps will help to get more young people taking science at GCSE level. However, I have great reservations about the reforms at the advanced level. While I welcome the rigour of mathematics at that level, I have great reservations about the dismissal of the AS-level. Quite a few students at the moment take AS-level maths as an intermediate qualification but do not go on to pursue it to A2-level. By getting rid of the A2-level in maths, we may find that those students do not try to take any maths at all at a further level.

I know that the Secretary of State is anxious to have an intermediate level maths examination, and I would certainly welcome that. However—this echoes something that I have heard the noble Lord, Lord Broers, say from time to time—I would welcome it if, instead of narrowing down specialisation at the age of 16 to just a few subjects, making it difficult to pursue both mathematics, science and an arts subject, we went down the route of the international baccalaureate, or something equivalent, whereby students keep a much broader range of subjects right through to 18. With our raising of the age of participation from 16 to 18, there was an opportunity to do that. It is an opportunity that we have missed.

The table on page 17 shows how out of line we are in not requiring continuing study of mathematics post-16. The table on page 23 illustrates how few students in the science and social science field take mathematics through to that level. It is not just about maths education. Another point touched on by the committee is careers advice. At the moment, if young people at the age of 13 or 14 do not make the right choices, they often cut off options later. Schools need independent careers advice from people who have knowledge of the world outside. Recent changes have changed the position of information, advice and guidance on careers, and schools are supposed to have independent advice, but, too frequently, they are now relying merely on a website and a telephone hotline, not providing that advice in person.

Many young people aged 13 or 14 have no idea what they want to do. It is very important that they can keep their options open. That is why I favour the wider route. They are unaware of the flexibility that there is later. It is important for them to have proper careers advice and information about universities where they can study different subjects in flexible ways at that stage.

My other point about schools concerns girls. One reason why those who get good science results do not continue is because they are girls. We know that relatively few young women go on to pursue science. There again, how important careers advice is. I would like more professional advice to go to those young women so that they know the careers that they could go into. At the moment, their own views are much too stereotyped. It is important that they should experience some of the wider options available.

I pick up two other important issues. It is not mentioned in the report, but it is significant that about 60,000 of the 300,000 young people entering higher education come not by the A-level route but by the BTEC route, the more vocational route. We need to put that alongside the academic A-level route.

It is important that as well as the more vocational route there is also progression to higher-level apprenticeships and the higher levels of BTEC, that progression is recognised and we develop not a two-tier system but a dual-track system so that it is possible at any moment to move across and upwards rather than feeling that there is a single-track ladder that takes you upwards. We need a dual-track system to higher qualifications. In the past, and even today, many of those who lead our leading engineering firms came up through the apprenticeship route rather than the academic route.

Finally, I shall say a word about postgraduate provision. Here I should declare an interest in that I was a member of the all-party Higher Education Commission that last year produced a report on postgraduate provision. I shall pick up two aspects of financial provision for postgraduate training. The first is that those who pursue taught master’s courses largely in order to develop the professional skills that are now needed in many of the more professional careers need a proper form of career development loan. The current system is not working, and it is vital that some new guarantee, perhaps, is given. It is reasonable that we could look to the private sector to provide the loans, but we need to get a much better mechanism for making them work. When the Government are prepared to put £5 billion behind mortgage guarantees, surely they could put some money behind this sort of guarantee. I would like to see it.

It is vital that we see proper funding of masters and PhD research studentships, which is up to the research councils. Like my noble friend Lord Willis, I think that the development of the doctoral research centres has its point, but it is also important that basic financial support for young people in studentships is there to encourage people from this country to go into postgraduate careers. As the noble Lord, Lord Broers, emphasised, postgraduate training here is a vital means of technology transfer.

This report raises a lot of important subjects for this country if we are to pursue the wishes that many Ministers have expressed to become a high-tech country dependent on science-based technologies and to develop our knowledge-based industries. The response from the Government has been disappointing in many respects, not least in relation to visas. In the past, because we have not been producing enough STEM graduates, we have been filling vacancies with migrants from overseas. Now we are shutting the door on those coming in from overseas. As far as we are concerned, however, it will be too late if we cannot grow our own graduates to fill those places. This message has been before successive Governments over the past 30 years but it has not had an impact. This time, I hope the Government might be rather more responsive.