Case for support
Together, we can give all young people the chance to succeed in STEM and secure the UK’s future workforce.
The Challenge: Skills, Opportunity, Inequality - the UK faces a perfect storm of challenges.
STEM skills shortages
- Engineering: the UK needs 400,000 engineers by 2030 to deliver Net Zero and infrastructure commitments.
- Digital: 250,000 additional digital specialists are needed by 2027.
- Health & Life Sciences: NHS staffing shortages continue to undermine recovery.
- Advanced Manufacturing: regional employers cannot find work-ready recruits.
Regional inequalities
- A young person in London is three times more likely to go to university than one in the North East.
- Many coastal and rural communities remain “cold spots” for opportunity.
Social mobility gap
- Only 17% of the STEM workforce are women.
- Less than 10% of STEM roles are held by Black or Asian professionals.
- NEET levels hit an 11-year high in 2024, with one in seven young people aged 16–24 not in education, training, or work.
Without urgent action, the UK risks failing to deliver its Industrial Strategy, Net Zero commitments, and economic growth ambitions.
Our Patron & Our Response
Patroned by His Majesty The King, Industrial Cadets is the national accreditation for work readiness in STEM — the equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for industry.
Through Industrial Cadets and EDT programmes we:
- Provide a clear learner pathway from primary to employment, accredited at Challenger, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels.
- Deliver over 50,000 STEM experiences each year, embedding confidence, skills, and workplace behaviours.
- Build regional clusters in partnership with employers, universities, and local authorities, ensuring levelling-up is place-based.
- Align with funders’ ESG and social value goals, creating demonstrable community benefit and future workforce pipelines.
We have already reached 250,000 young people. With your support, we will inspire 1 million by 2035.
Why your support matters now
Your investment will:
- Close the equity gap by funding bursaries for disadvantaged young people.
- Grow Future Pathways in Net Zero, Digital, Health, and Advanced Engineering — tackling the UK’s most urgent sector skills shortages
- Anchor regional clusters, from Teesside to the Midlands to the North East, driving local economic growth and skills alignment with LSIPs.
- Strengthen impact evaluation, showing funders measurable outcomes and building an evidence base to scale what works.
- Deliver social value by giving employers a direct way to fulfil ESG commitments through accredited programmes.
Ways to support
- Fund a Bursary – £100 gives one disadvantaged young person an Industrial Cadets accredited experience.
- Regional/Pathway Sponsorship – £10,000+ supports local pilots in priority areas or sectors.
- Partner With Us – co-create flagship pathway programmes in Future Pathways.
- Make a Gift – every donation helps us close the skills gap and unlock opportunity.
Funding Menu – What Your Support Achieves
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By supporting EDT and Industrial Cadets, you are not only changing young lives — you are also delivering on national priorities: closing the STEM skills gap, driving levelling up, and meeting the UK’s Net Zero and Industrial Strategy goals. Together we can create a generation of diverse, work-ready talent and secure the future of our economy and society.