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.
| Rank | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Programmers and software development professionals |
| 2 | Production managers and directors in manufacturing |
| 3 | IT specialist managers |
| 4 | Information technology and telecommunications professionals (not elsewhere classified) |
| 5 | Engineering professionals (not elsewhere classified) |
| 6 | Mechanical engineers |
| 7 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers |
| 8 | Design and development engineers |
| 9 | Civil engineers |
| 10 | IT project and programme managers |
| 11 | Electrical engineers |
| 12 | Production and process engineers |
| 13 | Electronics engineers |
| 14 | Information technology and telecommunications directors |
| 15 | Quality assurance and regulatory professionals |
| 16 | Web design and development professionals |
| 17 | Engineering technicians |
| 18 | Biological scientists and biochemists |
| 19 | Health and safety officers |
| 20 | Research and development managers |
| 21 | Quality control and planning engineers |
| 22 | Electrical and electronics technicians |
| 23 | Natural and social science professionals (not elsewhere classified) |
| 24 | Waste disposal and environmental services managers |
| 25 | Building and civil engineering technicians |
| 26 | Planning, process and production technicians |
| 27 | Laboratory technicians |
| 28 | Production managers and directors in mining and energy |
| 29 | Environment professionals |
| 30 | Science, engineering and production technicians (not elsewhere classified) |
| 31 | Environmental health professionals |
| 32 | Quality assurance technicians |
| 33 | Physical scientists |
| 34 | IT operations technicians |
| 35 | Chemical scientists |
| 36 | IT user support technicians |
| 37 | Conservation professionals |
| 38 | IT engineers |
(Adapted from UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 2015)
Activity 3 Thinking about your skills
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.
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.