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.