Inspiring futures
Access to good quality careers information is important to help young people make decisions about their future. Effective careers provision supports young people to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in preparation for the challenges and opportunities of the workforce. Through our research, we take deep dives into the gaps, opportunities and careers provisions challenges in the education landscape.
Career provision in schools
Schools across the UK have a responsibility to provide students with information about future careers and career pathways. Our research looks at the current STEM careers provision in schools, young people’s experiences and perceptions of engineering.
Our latest research highlights the importance of structured work experience and teacher support, to prepare students for future careers in STEM. We surveyed almost 200 teachers and other roles in schools about the barriers they face in delivering effective STEM careers guidance.
The findings identify particular challenges in funding and staff time. Access to quality work experience opportunities and visibility of underrepresented demographic groups is also a barrier. The report calls on the government to publish a new long-term careers strategy for England, with a work experience strategy to run alongside it.
Outreach research
We want to learn from others, as well as from our own programmes, to improve engineering and technology outreach. We research effective methods and interventions with young people across the STEM sectors. We collate the findings and share them with the community.
Rapid evidence reviews
Our rapid evidence reviews bring together available evidence across the engineering and tech outreach landscape. We collate the findings to determine gaps in research, key findings and learnings.
- STEM clubs and their ability to increase students’ aspirations for engineering and technology careers draws on evidence on STEM clubs and their ability to increase students’ interest in and engagement with engineering and technology careers
- Interventions to increase girls’ aspirations for engineering and technology careers brings together the available evidence on interventions that aim to increase girls’ aspirations for engineering and technology careers
Connecting SMEs and young people
We know that access to relatable role models plays a vital role in inspiring young people to consider a career in engineering and technology.
In 2023, we published a research project on how to increase young people's access to engineering companies. This research was conducted by EngineeringUK and the ERA Foundation in collaboration with the Careers and Enterprise Company.
It studies how SMEs connect with young people through education providers. It discusses solutions for quality and impactful engagement to increase young people’s access to engineering companies
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Latest research
Our research covers the engineering and tech industry, including the current workforce and future demand. We analyse educational trends to understand the future talent pool. And we survey young people to understand their attitudes to STEM careers.
