Yesterday was A levels results day, and, as expected, the press was be full of photos of leggy lovelies leaping up and down in joy. But the business community is again lamenting the numbers of future employees who have opted for subjects less appropriate to a business career. And while the usefulness of dance, drama or pottery has long been debated, it would seem that even arts and literature are now looked at askance.
Richard Lambert, CBI director-general, says that the numbers taking science and maths A-levels must continue to rise substantially for Britain to thrive in the global economy.
He says: "Employers congratulate students and teachers on these results, and it is great to see young people succeed. A-levels reflect ability and determination, and are valued and understood by business.
"We are pleased to see increases in the numbers taking maths and science, but we need to see a continued rise if Britain is to compete successfully in the global economy.
"For example, the numbers taking physics A-level are still considerably smaller than they were 10 years ago, even though more people take A-levels now. We will continue to push for changes that address this problem."
The CBI estimates that there will be about 2m extra jobs requiring science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills by 2014. It has therefore proposed a five-point plan to help increase numbers with these skills:
1. Automatic opt in to Triple science. 40% of 14-year-olds automatically opted in to Triple science GCSE courses, which is the best preparation for further study. Just 7% of 16-year-olds currently take three science GCSEs.
2. Improve school buildings and science labs. Government has allocated £45 billion to improve school buildings including labs (Under Building Schools for Future - BSF) but must make the investment a reality. The programme is supposed to be over 20-25 years but the initial target of 100 BSF schools by 2009 is unlikely to be met as only 13 have opened so far.
3. Upgrade careers advice. £120m of new funding to pay for one-to-one careers advice at ages 14, 16 and 18, which will help challenge misperceptions about science and engineering degrees. The CBI says companies also need to take further steps to encourage young people into these careers.
4. Schools must prioritise science by timetabling specialist science teachers to deliver Triple science as soon as it is practical. Timetabling problems should not be difficult to overcome where schools have the necessary physics and chemistry specialists. The government's new £5,000 'golden hello' payments are also starting to increase the number of science graduates training as teachers.
5. Offer financial incentives. Give bursaries of £1,000 a year to STEM graduates to help pay tuition fees - at a total cost of around £200m a year - to reflect the importance of these skills to the UK economy.
