There can’t be a HotViews reader who doesn’t know of my enthusiasm to build a strong tech/ICT sector in the UK. You will also be aware of my ‘campaign’ to get more entry-level IT jobs created in the UK for both graduates and school leavers. One of the many obstacles to the latter was that, for so long, the STEM subjects required for IT were ‘out of fashion’ in schools. In part this was due to both the lack of primary and secondary teachers with the required skills and a quite appalling ICT curriculum. Both these have started to be addressed (only started…not completed)
The A level results today really are encouraging to people like me. Maths and further Maths A levels rose another 3.3% and 7.6% today which means a massive rise of 45.6% since 2007. (BTW - Language A levels were the losers)
It will take time for all these advances to work their way through. Firstly, these A level students need to go through university – where, again, STEM subjects are in the ascendancy. Then these qualified graduates need jobs. Again, encouraging signs but nowhere near enough.
But that surge could result in many more really good experienced engineers in a few years time. Exactly the kind of people who will have great ideas. Hopefully we will have the support systems in place to help them to exploit those ideas in the UK.
I have a dream. It’s buying a world beating high tech product (hardware, software or service) and reading “Funded, Designed and Built in the UK” on it. If the Olympics taught us cynical Britons one thing it is that dreams really can come true.