Is the Future Pipeline of Education Technology Developers in Jeopardy?

Dr Anne Nortcliffe, Head of School of Engineering, Technology and Design at Canterbury Christ Church University

Dr Anne Nortcliffe, Head of School of Engineering, Technology and Design at Canterbury Christ Church University

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths pipeline from school to Higher Education to industry is currently considered broken. Next-generation education technology developers, like any other technology-led industry, are dependent on the STEM talent pipeline. It is currently estimated that 52,000 IT jobs are unfilled, and 94% of technology employers report a skills shortage. The volume of vacancies is growing each quarter. It is estimated that the R&D sector needs an additional 150,000 scientific researchers and technicians by 2030 to ensure economic growth and UK country development. In the long term, it will place a squeeze on education technology developers' and technology educators’ talent pools, as other sectors offer greater financial rewards and benefits to fulfill their skill shortages. In addition, the UK Equality Act 2010, 2018 amendment requires education providers to ensure all technology adopted meets the accessibility regulations. It is known diverse teams provide fresh perspectives, greater innovations, and inclusive designed solutions.

"STEM needs a more diverse workforce to provide multiple perspectives, address the education digital technology divide, and reduce the digital skills gap of future industry talent."

COVID-19 highlighted the digital divide between the socioeconomic, town, and country populations' access to digital technology, that is, rural and low socioeconomic disparity in access to technology and the internet. Therefore, STEM needs a more diverse workforce to provide multiple perspectives, address the education digital technology divide, and reduce the digital skills gap of future industry talent. Education needs more diverse STEM educators to inspire the next generation of the STEM workforce in industry or education. For the last two academic years in England, STEM teacher training programs have been filled; in fact, maths and physics teaching training courses are less than half full. In addition, the current Baby Boomer generation who embraced STEM education inspired by the Space Race and post-World War II renewal and regeneration are currently retiring. Thus creating an increasing vacuum of STEM vacancies in industry, public and education sectors, an ever –decreasing circle of STEM talent pipeline, figure 1.

It should be noted that currently elected, and civil service governments who are developing STEM education and industry policy themselves, only 10% have a STEM HE qualification. Therefore, one could argue there is a disconnect between government and the realities of industry and education. Traditionally, the majority of the STEM pipeline to Higher Education is via STEM A’levels. Figures 2 and 3 highlight that the current Gen Z population of both genders in England is not studying STEM A’levels, which has declined since COVID-19.

Worldwide, the quality and volume of STEM education significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools, educators, parents, and students all struggled to provide meaningful, practical STEM education learning online and at home. Further impacting the digital education divide that opened further during the pandemic. The STEM A’levels results would indicate COVID-19 is casting a long shadow on STEM education in England. Only Computer Science nationally in England has a marginal increase in uptake for both genders.

The good news here in Kent and Medway is that Canterbury Christ Church University has been actively engaged in providing meaningful contextualized STEM outreach learning over the last six years, including the pandemic. Canterbury Christ Church University hosts and operates Southeast STEM Hub, Kent and Medway Collaborative Outreach Programme (KAMCOP), Primary and Secondary Engineering (sponsored by Kent and Medway EDGE Hub and Port of Dover), and teams from the University’s School of Engineering, Technology and Design and School of Psychology and Life Sciences and University school and colleges education outreach department, are proactively making a STEM difference. They are collectively delivering across Kent and Medway inclusive meaningful outreach activities. During 2022-23, the teams delivered inspiring STEM outreach activities to over 14,000 learners across Kent and Medway K-12 education provision. Meaningful STEM outreach at each key stage of the national curriculum has been shown to increase the STEM talent pipeline to STEM higher education and industry. Figures 3 and 4 would concur on the positive impact of STEM education in Kent and Medway. STEM A’levels engagement has increased over time, though COVID-19 potentially has had a minor impact on female students’ uptake of A’levels Maths and Physics, but significantly less than the national English picture. It is an area for future focus for outreach activities in Kent and Medway, the potential applied Maths and Physics in technology, in particular education technology for all of society.