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Engineering qualifications part 2 – and the situation in Scotland?

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Engineering qualifications part 2 – and the situation in Scotland? not so bad but not inspiring either – for the main qualifications (Nat5/Higher/Advanced Higher) – entries for Engineering Science at least changed little between 2016 and 2018 (2018 being the latest year for which data is available), though over the 2017-18 period there was a 25% fall in related entries for Advanced Highers /10% fall for Highers as shown in… Read More »Engineering qualifications part 2 – and the situation in Scotland?

Is this the end for Engineering GCSEs?

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Latest data from Ofqual shows a 37% decline in the number of entries for GCSE engineering in England over the past year – the number falling to just 2,990 entries for this summer (provisional figures). There has been a steady and fairly pronounced drop each year since 2015 and if this continues on trend then 2020 looks to be the end of the line for this ‘vocationally orientated’ qualification.

Achieving gender balance in engineering may take 90 years

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Analysis of the latest data from the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS), shows that despite an abundance of finance/initiatives to increase the level of female representation within the engineering ‘professions’ (a set of ‘core’ occupations identified by Engineering UK within their Annual – State of Engineering report) – the gender balance for engineering actually declined slightly during the past year i.e. the proportion of individuals in engineering roles that were… Read More »Achieving gender balance in engineering may take 90 years

An update on gender representation for International Women’s Day!

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I have been working through the latest workforce data from ONS over the past few days, so thought it timely to post some stats for gender representation by occupation (Q4.18) – notable observations from which (for me at least) included: • the figures for Corporate Managers and Administrators which, though well out of balance (31% women in Q4.18), were not as bad as I had been expecting given some of… Read More »An update on gender representation for International Women’s Day!

Is the UK being left behind when it comes to gender representation in STEM?

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Is the UK being left behind when it comes to gender representation in STEM. Just looking at the latest stats from NCES which show that, not only does the gender balance in STEM subjects in the US (post-secondary awards) look favourable compared to the UK, but also, the situation across the pond has been improving slightly in recent years. OK so educational systems differ I know, but, further analysis of… Read More »Is the UK being left behind when it comes to gender representation in STEM?

Growth in the UK tech workforce (specialists) between 2018-28 will be above that for key EU competitors … but in Spain things are set to ‘sky rocket’!

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Ok media speak having just digested a load of items relating to tech tsunamis, skills cataclysms, the end of the world as we know it due to a slight fall in job applicants etc etc… however: Latest forecasts from CEDEFOP (EU) suggest that over the next ten years, while the number of UK tech specialists is predicted to grow at a higher rate than in other key EU nations –… Read More »Growth in the UK tech workforce (specialists) between 2018-28 will be above that for key EU competitors … but in Spain things are set to ‘sky rocket’!

The ethnic pay gap – is it really that big? – well…sometimes yes sometimes no

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According to ONS, earnings during the 2013-16 period at least were sometimes higher amongst BAME workers (2014 & 2015) and at other times those from white ethnic groups – (2013 & 16) whilst our own analysis of data from the ONS Labour Force Survey shows that in 2017 there was actually no difference overall in the median reported earnings of BAME/white workers (deep breath – i.e. that were full-time, permanent,… Read More »The ethnic pay gap – is it really that big? – well…sometimes yes sometimes no

UK businesses (enterprises) appear more likely to undertake ICT activities using in-house staff than organisations in other parts of the EU

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UK businesses (enterprises) appear more likely to undertake ICT activities using in-house staff than organisations in other parts of the EU. Perhaps contrary to what we read in the press, UK enterprises (with more than 10 staff and not including financial services – don’t look at me this is a Eurostat/ONS thing that they have been messing up on for years) appear less likely to contract work out to external… Read More »UK businesses (enterprises) appear more likely to undertake ICT activities using in-house staff than organisations in other parts of the EU

IT skills shortages – still common but the UK actually does pretty well compared with many of our competitors

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Latest data from Eurostat shows once again that UK employers aren’t the only ones having trouble recruiting the tech staff they need – in fact the scale of the issue here is actually pretty small when compared with the likes of Czechia, Austria, Malt and Luxembourg where more than 70% of employers advertising for ICT staff last year stated that they had difficulties recruiting for some/all of these positions (compared… Read More »IT skills shortages – still common but the UK actually does pretty well compared with many of our competitors