More Tech Careers in Liverpool

Liverpool's Big Bang Fair aims to persuade more young people to pursue a career in engineering, maths, science and technology.

21:07 10 July 2018

100 companies will grace Liverpool’s Big Bang Fair this week to encourage more young people, particularly girls, to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The fair aims to provide a solution to the massive shortage of people with STEM skills, which hinders the growth of the UK economy.

 

Kirsty MacDonald, a business development executive at Liverpool John Moores University,  said although there are currently 87,000 graduate engineering opportunities in the UK, there were only 46,000 graduates to fill the positions. She added: “Engineering contributes 26% of the UK’s entire GDP… there is still not enough understanding of the plethora of opportunities that are available in tech and engineering.”

 

Figures also show that the demand for STEMS skills is set to increase significantly over the next few years. However, between 2012 and 2017, there was a 10per cent decrease in GCSE entries for science subjects.

 

One of the driving forces behind the Big Bang Fair is Liverpool-based entrepreneur Michelle Dow, one of the UK’s first female apprentice gas fitters back in the 1990s. Her company – All About STEM – is driven to inspire young people to take up a STEM career.