SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College has today responded to a new report highlighting the conflict between subjects taught at school and the world of work.

Research released today by the charity that promotes UTCs such as the SGS Berkeley Green reveals that 45 per cent of 20 to 35-year-olds working in STEM related roles (science, technology, engineering and maths) believe the subjects they studied at school are useless in the world of work.

A greater number (61 per cent) thought that learning technical skills would have been more useful than studying traditional academic subjects.

It found that 60 per cent of those surveyed didn't believe teachers had a sufficient understanding of the labour market and a similar number (63 per cent) felt that schools didn't understand the skills employers needed.

Three out of five (63 per cent) felt employers didn't have enough say in what schools teach and over half of respondents (55 per cent) also admitted that they didn't understand how the subjects they learnt at school could be used in the world of work.

Other findings

• Computer science, maths and English were by far the most popular subjects and 70 per cent felt this was because they had relevance to the real world

• 53 per cent of respondents thought employers preferred an academic rather than a technical education

• 59 per cent of respondents reported that they received a poor standard of careers advice

• The experiences of the youngest STEM workers that were surveyed suggests that winning the first STEM job is much more challenging now than before

• Half of the STEM workers surveyed aged between 32 and 35 secured their first job within five job applications, but among those aged between 20 and 22, just 31 per cent managed this

Andrew Keenan, interim principal SGS Berkeley Green UTC, said: "The UTC is opening to address an identified need to recruit engineers and cyber security experts to fill existing and future vacancies in the region.

"We are passionate about educating our young people to get them ready for the industry or for progressing their study at university.

"We are working with some inspirational employers in the region, as well as SGS College and the University of Gloucestershire to ensure we are giving our students all the skills they will require."

The survey of one thousand young STEM workers was commissioned by Baker Dearing Educational Trust.

Lord Baker, chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, said: "As we head towards Brexit the challenge for our education system is to ensure we equip students with the skills they need to forge successful careers in key areas like science, engineering and computing which our economy increasingly demands.

"This report shows that the current education system fails to provide these young people with opportunities to develop the technical skills they need to get the jobs they want.

"Every attempt to improve technical and hands-on vocational learning since 1870 has failed - most killed by snobbery.

"UTCs are part of a small minority of schools which are attempting to meet the skills demands of industry and give students a well-rounded education to help them meet their full potential.

"UTCs exist because students want them, employers like them and the economy needs them."

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