Encouraging women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers
Despite a rise in the number of young people choosing to study science and maths after further education, there is still a high demand for graduates with technical skills.
There is also a shortfall in the number of women choosing to study science, engineering, technology and maths (STEM) subjects and pursuing STEM careers. In the UK, only 15.5 per cent of the STEM workforce are women.
The 'Mind the Gap' Key Action 2 VET consortium includes five partners from the UK, Netherlands and Spain all committed to promoting STEM subjects in VET. With women currently making up almost half the labour market, (46% of the workforce in the UK), the partnership expects to see a range of benefits by encouraging more girls into STEM subjects after compulsory education. It also aims to address an ongoing skills gap in the STEM sector at European level, a shortfall in women and increasing drop-out rates of girls in STEM.
The project works directly with VET teachers, as well as 16-18 year old girls studying or who dropped out or studied without going on to pursue a career in STEM. The project also works indirectly with younger girls in secondary schools and organisations working in the field of gender diversity and STEM.
The research has been very encouraging and will now be used to help develop a new training programme in gender diversity in STEM for teachers - Carolyn Usher, Inova
Closing the gender gap
Carolyn Usher, project manager from UK partner organisation Inova, said: “We have focused on a needs analysis, collecting information from both teachers and students on their perception of women in STEM, the gender gap in classrooms and what support is needed, for both groups, to help ensure that girls studying these subjects go on to work or further study in the sector after the age of 18.
“The research has been very encouraging and will now be used to help develop a new training programme in gender diversity in STEM for teachers as well as support for both teachers and young girls in the form of 'Career Circles™', which will use mentoring, coaching and action learning techniques in small groups to explore GAP issues in depth and help young women plan their STEM future! We are now planning our second partner meeting which will take place in Amsterdam and will include a 'Training the Trainers' session where the new Mind the GAP course will be presented to partners.”
Take a look at the stories of other VET organisations and get motivated to apply for funding.
