Business

Northern Ireland ‘must do better’ with continued investment in STEM skills - Sentinus

- 2016 PISA results show Northern Ireland teens 'slightly better than global average' but we ‘must do better’ to maximise economic benefits post Brexit

FOLLOWING the announcement that 15-year-olds in Northern Ireland performed slightly better than the global average in international tests in maths, reading and science, leading science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) educational charity Sentinus has warned that ‘average’ is still not good enough and that we ‘must do better’.

In particular, it believes that rather than being distracted by the potential impacts of Brexit, over which the region has little influence, it is vitally important to increase a commitment to developing STEM skills from an early age, increase the promotion and uptake of the STEM subjects and address those areas of underachievement highlighted by the report.

The results, recorded by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is co-ordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), surveyed 15-year-olds across the world in mathematics, reading, literacy and science.

Students from Northern Ireland slightly outperformed their counterparts in Scotland and Wales, but were marginally behind those in England in all three areas.

However, Northern Ireland had relatively few high-achieving pupils, with only 7 per cent in science and maths, and 6 per cent in reading regarded as ‘top performers’ in the tests.

Sentinus chairman Jim Stewart says: “In the current post-Brexit climate, further education and skills has become an even more vital component for the future of Northern Ireland's economy and remains one of the few economic levers fully within our control.

"While it is pleasing to hear from our PISA report card that the proportion of 15-year-olds who aspire to a career in science is greater in Northern Ireland than the average across OECD members, our results have not demonstrated significant improvement.

"We simply must do everything we can to ensure our students are ‘better than average’ in future tests."

He added: "It is evident that we still have some way to go to achieve an education system which can compete with those of the Far East, ensuring we have a steady flow of skilled talent to support the new knowledge economy and also compensating for our peripheral location in Europe.

“Recently, Professor Neil Gibson, director of the Ulster University's Economic Policy Centre, emphasised the importance of our politicians not being simply distracted by Brexit and instead addressing the long-standing economic challenges in Northern Ireland, which remain a priority whether we are inside or outside the EU. As he suggests this is especially when considering 'non-student inactivity rates, low productivity and the high numbers of school leavers with low or no qualifications.'

"These all impact on skills availability and we would urge the Executive to focus their energies on areas like this, over which we have full control, as we stand to gain more from it economically in the medium to long term.”

Sentinus works with more than 60,000 young people each year from schools and colleges across Northern Ireland, delivering programmes that promote engagement in STEM and support the development of scientific and technological skills.