Disrupt education to match disruptive technology, says NEF

Its report – Inventing the Future: transforming STEM economies – has recommended the creation of a more flexible workforce "able to take full advantage of disruptive technology; moving easily between sectors; thinking creatively across different disciplines". NEF added: "Urgent transformation is required because advances in areas such as nanotechnology, genomics, robotics, cloud computing, biotechnology and 3D printing are dramatically shifting the jobs landscape and changing the skills requirements of most STEM-based sectors." The report said there was a chronic shortage of workers that could combine advanced technical knowledge with project management and business development skills. NEF warned: "Organisations report that industry newcomers are ill prepared for the workplace and have to undergo further training in order to gain the required competencies." It added that, without a restructuring of STEM education, inertia and inaction would stifle innovation and could put jobs and economic growth at risk. NEF called upon local enterprise partnerships and chambers of commerce to help devise co-ordinated and long-term regional skills strategies, liaising with industry and academia on technology trends and paving the way for differentiated technology clusters across the UK. Other recommendations include: • Setting up new communication channels to ensure companies of all sizes can have their say on STEM strategy • More secondment posts, allowing a greater exchange of personnel between industry and academia • Senior industry figures to sit on governance boards of FE and HE institutions, taking a more active role in education strategy, learning methodology and research priorities NEF chief executive and lead author of Inventing the Future, Professor Sa'ad Medhat, said: "Our current STEM education system is holding students back from realising their full potential. We owe it to them, and to future generations, to create a process of learning that can evolve at the same pace as technology. "It's time for all stakeholders – Government, industry and academia – to collaborate together on a concerted programme of change. Doing nothing is no longer an option. Action must be taken to transform our STEM economies, both for the good of the students and the long term economic health of UK plc."