1 Sráid Maoilbhríde, Baile Átha Cliath 1, D01 RC96 Marlborough St, Dublin 1, D01 RC96 T +353 1 889 2081 | [email protected]www.education.ie STEM Education Policy Statement 2017–2026 STEM Education Implementation Plan 2017–2019 Action: Establish baseline STEM data on participation, attainment, graduate outcomes and STEM related skills needs. Pillar 4 – Use evidence to support STEM education o Objective 1 – Using evidence to support STEM education 1.3 – Identify and provide annual STEM data indicators on participation, attainment, attitudes to STEM, graduate outcomes and STEM related skills needs. Introduction STEM education in Ireland is building on a range of reforms and activities. There are numerous strategies in place to promote STEM education, as well as events such as Science Week, Maths Week, BT Young Scientist, SciFest, etc., which all go a long way to promoting STEM education amongst young people. International studies suggest that positive trends are being made in relation to Ireland’s programme of STEM education. The latest results from PISA show that Ireland’s primary and post-primary students are amongst some of the best internationally recognised students when it comes to Mathematics and Science. The STEM Education Implementation Plan is aimed at making Ireland a leader in STEM education by 2026. It includes a focus on encouraging traditionally under- represented groups to participate in STEM activities, increasing links between the education system and industry, and reviewing, with a view to enhancing, the supports in place to ensure our teachers feel confident to embrace STEM. However, as we embark on the promotion of STEM education we have noted that skills shortages, societal impact, talent development and technology trends are fast becoming a national issue in relation to STEM. While there are many strengths in STEM education in Ireland, a number of challenges still exist. These include the need to: Ensure that Irish students’ learning in STEM disciplines significantly improves including development of skills such as problem-solving, inquiry-based learning and team working to address demands from the world of work Increase the number of students choosing STEM subjects in post-primary schools, those progressing to STEM pathways in Further or Higher Education and those who take up careers in STEM Increase participation of females in STEM education and careers Raise interest in and awareness of the range of exciting careers in STEM Ensure young people sustain their involvement in STEM education
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1 Sráid Maoilbhríde, Baile Átha Cliath 1, D01 RC96
Action: Establish baseline STEM data on participation, attainment, graduate outcomes and STEM related skills needs.
Pillar 4 – Use evidence to support STEM education o Objective 1 – Using evidence to support STEM education
1.3 – Identify and provide annual STEM data indicators on participation, attainment, attitudes to STEM, graduate outcomes and STEM related skills needs.
Introduction STEM education in Ireland is building on a range of reforms and activities. There are
numerous strategies in place to promote STEM education, as well as events such as
Science Week, Maths Week, BT Young Scientist, SciFest, etc., which all go a long
way to promoting STEM education amongst young people.
International studies suggest that positive trends are being made in relation to
Ireland’s programme of STEM education. The latest results from PISA show that
Ireland’s primary and post-primary students are amongst some of the best
internationally recognised students when it comes to Mathematics and Science.
The STEM Education Implementation Plan is aimed at making Ireland a leader in
STEM education by 2026. It includes a focus on encouraging traditionally under-
represented groups to participate in STEM activities, increasing links between the
education system and industry, and reviewing, with a view to enhancing, the
supports in place to ensure our teachers feel confident to embrace STEM.
However, as we embark on the promotion of STEM education we have noted that
skills shortages, societal impact, talent development and technology trends are fast
becoming a national issue in relation to STEM.
While there are many strengths in STEM education in Ireland, a number of
challenges still exist. These include the need to:
Ensure that Irish students’ learning in STEM disciplines significantly improves including development of skills such as problem-solving, inquiry-based learning and team working to address demands from the world of work
Increase the number of students choosing STEM subjects in post-primary schools, those progressing to STEM pathways in Further or Higher Education and those who take up careers in STEM
Increase participation of females in STEM education and careers
Raise interest in and awareness of the range of exciting careers in STEM
Ensure young people sustain their involvement in STEM education
Providing a STEM education of the highest quality for all our young people will
address these challenges and provide Ireland with the learners with STEM related
skills and qualifications as well as the skilled workforce to fulfil existing and growing
needs.
The data included below is intended to establish a baseline on STEM participation,
attainment, graduate outcomes and STEM related skills needs.
The data is compiled from the records on the uptake of STEM subjects at both Junior and Senior Cycle, from CAO data on applications to courses, from data provided by the HEA on graduate outcomes / non-progression rates in STEM subjects and also data from the National Skills Bulletin on STEM related skills shortages. Where possible, the data has been broken down by year and gender.2016 is used at the baseline figures for the purposes of the analysis so as we can measure the progress over the lifetime of the Policy Statement 2017-2026. The figures below are based on students taking the subjects at both higher and ordinary level; female uptake at higher level has been listed separately. Four categories have been identified:
Maths and Computing
Chemistry, Physics and Engineering
Biology and Home Economics
Applied Sciences (incl. Agricultural Science, Technology, Construction, Design Communication and Graphics, Materials Technology, Technical Graphics, Metal Work)
Uptake of STEM Subjects at Junior Cycle (Based on exam sits)
Appendix 1 Table 1: Summary of key statistics for occupations for which a skills shortage has been identified the National Skills Bulletin 20171
Occupational group Detailed shortage Employment level Q4 2016
Annual Average Growth 2011-2016
Education Level
Education and Training Supply (QQI FET & HE; HEA, SOLAS RCCRS)
2016
ICT specialist & project managers
IT managers (especially systems migration and IT project management e.g. waterfall and agile)
13,300
0.1% Third level
N/A – experienced professionals required
IT Business analysts & systems designers
▪ systems/solutions architects, database architects (e.g. data centres/data warehousing) ▪ business intelligence: BI solutions, big data analysts (e.g. Hadoop, Cassandra, SQL), ERP with SAP ▪ IT business analysts
Note: there were almost 2,400 Employment Permits issued for these occupations in 2016
Programmers & software developers
▪ software developers: mobile (iOS/Android), database (with Oracle/SQL), web, cloud; with skills in Java, JavaScript, C++, .Net, PHP, CSS, F#, Python, and Ruby on Rails the most frequently mentioned
22,200
7.4% NFQ 8+
Web designers & developers
▪ web design (niche areas only): particularly web related applications focusing on enhancing users’ online experience (UX) and supporting user interaction (UI) with 3-5 years’ experience
2,800
3.4% NFQ 8+
1 There are a number of other occupations (e.g. Care workers, hospitality workers (excluding chefs)) for which issues are arising, primarily related to retention and willingness to take up employment opportunities for reasons such as geographic mobility etc.
▪ Chemists/analytical scientists (especially product formulation, and analytical development for roles in biopharma) ▪ quality control analyst including pharma co-vigilance roles.
8,500
-1.2% NFQ 8+ NFQ 8-10: 4,562 graduates (science, includes 425 biochemistry graduates and 537 chemistry graduates)
Electrical & electronic engineers
▪ electrical engineers (safety, tech. specification, mechatronics - development and integration of mechanical, electrical and software systems; power generation and transmission)
Occupational group Detailed shortage Employment level Q4 2016
Annual Average Growth 2011-2016
Education Level
Education and Training Supply (QQI FET & HE; HEA, SOLAS RCCRS)
2016
Engineering professionals n.e.c.
▪ automation (including lean processes) ▪ validation/computer validation system (CVS), CQE certification ▪ chemical engineers ▪ mechanical engineers: with skills and experience in polymer engineering and injection moulding
especially locum and non-consultant hospital doctors, registrars and medical specialists (e.g. general and emergency medicine, oncology, psychiatry, orthopaedic, anaesthetists, paediatricians)
10,900
-2.5% NFQ 8+
NFQ 8: 1,205 graduates (medicine) Note: there were 1,447 Employment Permits issued for these occupations in 2016
Occupational group Detailed shortage Employment level Q4 2016
Annual Average Growth 2011-2016
Education Level
Education and Training Supply (QQI FET & HE; HEA, SOLAS RCCRS)
2016
Actuaries, economists & statisticians; other business professionals
▪ data analytics: experienced (5 years+) statisticians; economists and data scientists (big data, data visualisations and quantitative modelling ▪ FinTech: business and financial professionals with skills in specific software packages and experience (including international)
6,600 1.1% NFQ 8+
NFQ 8-10: 370 graduates (economics**) 566 graduates (maths & statistics) ** Includes only those who studied pure economics
Architectural technologists, construction project managers & surveyors
▪ construction project managers (with relevant experience and specialist knowledge) ▪ quantity surveyors, building services/structural/site engineers
5,100 1.4% NFQ 8+
NFQ 8-9: 107 graduates in quant. surveying/ construction economics NFQ 8-9: 177 graduates in construction/construction project management; NFQ 8: 67 graduates in structural engineering NFQ 8-9: 10 graduates in building services
Electrical, electronic & engineering technicians
electricians with specific skills in areas such as computer based industrial control systems
TIG/MIG welders particularly due to the growth in the construction and metal fabrication/machining (e.g. high tech manufacturing) industries
11,100 8.8% FET
NFQ 5-6 70 major awards (metal fabrication) 12 major awards (sheet metal)
Metal machining, fitting & instrument making trades
Tool makers/fitters – the strong performance of the high tech manufacturing sector is driving the demand for tool making skills
25,800 3.9%
NFQ 6 (FET) 93 major awards (mechanical automation maint. fitting) 38 major awards (tool making) 6 major awards (maintenance skills technology) 5 major awards (instrumentation)
Chemical & related process operatives
▪ qualified CNC (computer numeric control) operatives: particularly in high technology manufacturing (e.g. medical devices and pharmaceuticals) and engineering; ▪ production operatives, particularly in the high-tech manufacturing/med-tech sector
6,500 -2.8% FET NFQ 5 (FET) 13 major awards (life sciences manufacturing operations) 64 minor awards (injection moulding process optimisation) 18 minor awards (injection moulding process control) 8 minor awards (product & process validation) 3 minor awards (plastics materials processing) 39 minor awards (programmable logic controllers)
Table 1 summarises the main indicators on skills shortage in Ireland and is structured as follows.
Column 1 Occupational Group: the occupational groups for which shortages have been identified
Column 2 Detailed Shortage: the specifics of the shortage identified for each job title,
Column 3 Employment Level: the total number of persons employed in the occupational group in
quarter 4 2016; it allows for contextualisation of the shortage magnitude
Column 4 5-Year Annual Average Growth: the annualised rate of employment growth for the period
2011-2016.
Column 5 Education Level: level of education (FET, third level or varied) typically required
Column 6 Education and Training Supply: a rough estimate of the supply from the current education
and training system; where possible, awards data is used, as those recently exiting the
education/training system are most likely to enter the labour market (if they are not already in it) in
the short-term. Awards data includes:
• HEA data: the number of graduates (in 2016) from Universities, Institutes of Technology, and Colleges of Education across NFQ levels 6-10 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)
• QQI-FE data: the number of awards made in 2016 to learners in the Further e • Education and Training sector (FET); only awards at NFQ levels 5 and 6 (FET) were
included; in order to avoid double counting, as far as possible, only major awards were included; where no major awards data was available, minor award data was used. Awards relating to the Construction Skills Certification Scheme have not been included since they generally represent skills already in the occupation, rather than new supply.
• QQI-HE data: the number of awards made to learners in 2016 in private, third level institutions (e.g. Dublin Business School, Griffith College etc).
• Professional bodies (e.g. accountancy, tax): the number of persons who qualified to work as accountants, tax advisers etc in 2016.
• Finally, as not all FET awards are made by QQI, and awards data is not available from other awarding
bodies (e.g. City & Guilds), data from SOLAS’s Results Capture and Certification Request System
(RCCRS) was also used in a limited number of cases, in particular for certification in ICT and
engineering. This data only refers to the former FAS training centres and may underestimate FET