New research shows that parents back STEM careers, but need support to help their children pursue them
Over half of parents surveyed (55%) aren’t confident discussing engineering careers and 23% are ‘not at all confident’.
Our new report has discovered that 8 in 10 parents find the idea of their child pursuing a career in STEM appealing. However, they lack confidence to give careers advice for engineering, science or technology and are unsure of the entry routes after leaving school.
Confidence is lowest for discussing engineering careers, and dads are much more confident about giving STEM careers advice than mums. This was seen across all 3 subject areas, with the largest gap being for engineering, where 58% of dads are confident vs 25% of mums.
This overall lack of confidence in giving STEM careers advice could be due to low awareness of all the different entry points into the sector. While 42% of parents said they knew a lot about university degrees, just 20% said the same for apprenticeships. 15% said the same for other vocational qualification, 12% for BTECs, and just 5% for T Levels.
With National T Levels Week kicking off today, it’s an opportunity to improve awareness of a more technical route into the industry. 43% of parents said they either hadn’t heard of T Levels or were unsure if they had.
Of those parents who considered engineering to be attractive, the top 3 reasons were:
- good earning potential
- can work in many different industries
- interesting profession
From T Levels and apprenticeships to university degrees, STEM offers career routes for all young people whatever their background and learning style. Jobs in engineering are expected to grow faster than other occupations in the UK over the next 5 years. It’s essential that young people get the careers advice they need to make informed decisions about their future.
While schools play an important role in providing careers advice, we know that parents are the most consulted source of careers information by young people. It’s encouraging that parents recognise engineering and tech provide great career opportunities for young people, particularly as demand for these roles is growing in the UK. But the findings also highlight we need to ensure parents are empowered to support their child to discover the variety of interesting and rewarding jobs and entry routes available.
— Becca Gooch, Head of Research, EngineeringUK
How teachers can help
To help parents discuss engineering careers with their child, you can download and share this free parent booklet or watch this free webinar. To learn more about T Levels and how they can support a rewarding career in engineering and tech read our T Level explorer leaflet.
For support with starting STEM careers conversations with your students check out the short ‘Meet the future you’ quiz.
