Girls Shine on BTEC STEM Courses, We Just Need Numbers to Rise.

Pearson, the organisation which awards BTEC qualifications has shared data which shows where girls participate in skills based science and technology courses they outperform their male counterparts by being more likely to achieve the top grades.

Despite this success and as per science participation in a broader context boys significantly outnumber girls on STEM BTEC courses, but figures from Pearson also show that albeit from a low base the number of girls taking BTEC qualifications in STEM subjects is increasing.

This year, girls made up 5% of students taking engineering at BTEC Level Two, taken alongside GCSEs but more than a third (37%) of these girls gained a distinction, compared with 20% of boys.

In information technology (IT), girls made up 38% of the student population at Level Two but around a third (31%) gained a distinction, compared with 21% of the boys.

Rob Bristow, president of Pearson in the UK, said: "Still too few girls make the next step in a Stem-related career by studying these subjects at university. This is something educators, business and government all need to work on and put right."

"We know STEM skills are crucial to the high skills economy we will need in the future. Too often these are seen as 'boys' subjects'; today's figures show that, when girls do sign up to these vital subjects, they flourish."

The figures also show girls are out-performing their male colleagues in science, and while more girls are choosing to study science, technology, engineering and maths  (STEM), experts have warned that low numbers were going on to study these subjects at university and to have careers in these areas.

Helen Wollaston, director of WISE, (Women into Science and Engineering) said: “These results prove that girls can do science, IT and engineering; in fact, those that choose these subjects do better than boys. At a time when UK industry is crying out for more people with STEM qualifications, we have to get more of this female talent into the workforce."

Calls For Government Action To Get More Girls Studying A-Level Science.

The government is being urged to launch a nationwide careers service which would work alongside schools to encourage more girls to study science A-levels with the overall aim of increasing the number of women working in science.

Women are under-represented in a number of career sectors including science, technology, engineering and maths and the business select committee is pressing ministers to launch a nationwide careers service to address this under-representation.

The committee's chair, Adrian Bailey MP said: "We need to change the culture in schools which in so many cases presume there is a set of career paths for women.  A young person's influences are their peer group, teachers and parents. It's breaking into these groups to make them aware of the breadth of opportunities available that will make the difference."

The report highlighted inadequacies in the careers advice offered to young women and said the government should set targets for encouraging women into apprenticeships into sectors such as science, technology, engineering and maths where they are perennially under-represented.

The committee shared some worrying facts including the fact that only 20% of A-level physics students are girls, only 5% of fellows at the Royal Society of Chemistry are women and that women represent just 12% of workers in the field of astronomy.

The government has two months to respond to the report findings.

The full report on women in the workplace can be downloaded at the following link:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/news/on-publ-women-in-the-workplace/