Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure regional opportunities for young people in STEM (a) further education and (b) careers.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Developing the skills of young people, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a critical enabler for the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth.

That is why the department is setting up Skills England, a new body, to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions, to help meet the skills needs of the next decade, aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.

This will be underpinned by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), that support our aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs. A £165 million Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) has been made available across all areas of the country to support providers to respond collaboratively to the skills needs identified in the LSIPs.

The department will continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through our technical education offer with a range of high quality qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities at all levels.

Access to future employers should never be dependent on who you know, or where you live. Our ambition is to offer a guarantee of two weeks’ worth of high quality work experience to all young people, irrespective of their background. This will open doors to a wider range of employers and businesses and give young people a greater insight into the labour market.

To support young people with careers information, advice and guidance, the Careers and Enterprise Company, back by £30 million of government funding in 2024/25, coordinates a national network of Careers Hubs which now includes 93% of secondary schools and colleges. The network includes 400 leading employers and around 4,000 business volunteers, including many representing STEM occupations. Our careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, includes a clear expectation that all 11 to 18-year-olds should have at least one meaningful interaction with employers per year. This should include an encounter with a STEM employer or workplace, or a careers event focused on STEM, before year 11.