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Returning to STEM
Returning to STEM

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2.2 STEM occupations and skills

In a recent government report (UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 2015), 38 high level STEM occupations were considered critical and likely to be areas of increased recruitment. Table 1 lists these occupations.

Table 1 Critical STEM occupations for recruitment
RankOccupation
1Programmers and software development professionals
2Production managers and directors in manufacturing
3IT specialist managers
4Information technology and telecommunications professionals (not elsewhere classified)
5Engineering professionals (not elsewhere classified)
6Mechanical engineers
7IT business analysts, architects and systems designers
8Design and development engineers
9Civil engineers
10IT project and programme managers
11Electrical engineers
12Production and process engineers
13Electronics engineers
14Information technology and telecommunications directors
15Quality assurance and regulatory professionals
16Web design and development professionals
17Engineering technicians
18Biological scientists and biochemists
19Health and safety officers
20Research and development managers
21Quality control and planning engineers
22Electrical and electronics technicians
23Natural and social science professionals (not elsewhere classified)
24Waste disposal and environmental services managers
25Building and civil engineering technicians
26Planning, process and production technicians
27Laboratory technicians
28Production managers and directors in mining and energy
29Environment professionals
30Science, engineering and production technicians (not elsewhere classified)
31Environmental health professionals
32Quality assurance technicians
33Physical scientists
34IT operations technicians
35Chemical scientists
36IT user support technicians
37Conservation professionals
38IT engineers

(Adapted from UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 2015)

Activity 3 Thinking about your skills

Timing: Allow about 30 minutes

Using Table 1 as a prompt, draw a spider diagram (sometimes called a mind map) of your skills and experience matching them to the kinds of jobs that are likely to be available in your field. Also note where you think you might need additional training if you were going to enter this area of work.

Figure 4 Spider diagram

You can draw your diagram by hand or using a mind-mapping tool such as FreeView that is free to download and use.

You’ve researched different areas of growth in STEM employment and thought about which areas are likely to match your skills. You might also want to consider going to further study or training to update your skills and knowledge.