Industry calls for scrapping of English Baccalaureate

Britain’s manufacturers are calling on the Government to scrap the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) and rebrand Design and Technology currently taught in schools as part of a massive effort to boost vocational education take-up and develop more young people with the skills and knowledge required to fill STEM skills gaps.

The call was made by Make UK and Semta in a new report entitled ‘Making Design and Technology manufacturers’ business’.

The report contains new analysis of the extent to which the number of pupils studying Design and Technology in schools is essential not to just fill current skills gaps but to fuel the pipeline of future students taking STEM subjects.

This will be essential if the Government is to meet its target as part of the people element of the industrial strategy which will require the creative skills of the future in subjects such as robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Tim Thomas, Director of Employment and Skills Policy at Make UK, said: “The Government’s Industrial Strategy is a critical blueprint in shaping the future of the UK economy, and how we address fundamental challenges we face as a society. The world of work will be very different in the future and, as a result, the education system has to adapt to reflect this.”

“However, far from fuelling the future talent pipeline with new skills in new technologies, the introduction of the Ebacc has had a negative effect on the numbers of students studying Design and Technology in schools today.”

“Given the pace of technologic change, and the influence of design in all aspects of the rapidly changing world around us, the Government must rethink its strategy towards the teaching of these vital STEM-based subjects as a matter of urgency.”

Ann Watson, CEO of Semta, said: “With the requirement for 60,000 new entrants into the engineering and manufacturing sector each year, it is of paramount importance that we can look to address how we can support and introduce young people into engineering, whilst providing inspiration, for them to realise the breadth of opportunity that the sector can provide.”

“It is crucial for the future prosperity of the sector that we revisit the STEM-based school curriculum and raise the profile and economic importance of design and technology a a route to a career in engineering and manufacturing.”