Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking encourage the take-up of STEM subjects at further education level.

​​The department continues to support the take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in further education (FE). Skills, including STEM skills, are crucial for the delivery of the government’s missions. That is why the department is building a coherent, flexible, high-quality skills system to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth, underpinned by a new post-16 skills and education strategy.

​The department is setting up Skills England 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 work will also be underpinned by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) which help make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs.

The department will continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through its technical education offer, with a range of high-quality qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities at all levels. Examples of this include:

• 12 T Levels in STEM subjects, including engineering, science, digital and media.

• ​Over 370 employer-designed apprenticeship standards in STEM, including level 3 Cyber Security Technician, level 4 Software Developer and level 6 Civil Engineer (degree).

• ​Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) in STEM, such as a foundation degree in biomedical sciences, Higher National Certificate in electronic systems, or Higher National Diploma in space technologies.

HTQs are level 4 to 5 qualifications, approved and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education as providing skills in demand by employers. To date, 169 HTQs have been approved across Digital, Construction, and Health and Science routes.

​In October, the department expanded eligibility for retention incentives to include early career FE teachers in key STEM and technical subjects. FE teachers can apply for the payment between 14 October 2024 and 31 March 2025 on GOV.UK accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/targeted-retention-incentive-payments-for-fe-teachers. This targeted retention incentive gives eligible teachers in disadvantaged schools and all colleges up to £6,000 after tax. This has doubled the previous retention payments paid to school teachers and is now available to eligible teachers at all FE colleges, for the first time.

​Access to future employers is critical for young people making decisions on their careers and it should not be limited to who they or their parents and guardians know. The department’s ambition is to offer a guarantee of two weeks’ worth of high-quality work experience to all young people, irrespective of their background.

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 in STEM occupations. The department’s 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 a STEM-focused encounter or event before year 11.