Address the gender imbalance

Imagine being a young woman smart enough to set your heart on an engineering apprenticeship – only for your headmaster to rip up your application. It beggars belief, but it happened. The message was: you are clever, so go to university. Let's hope her gender wasn't a factor, but one has to wonder when the UK has the lowest percentage of female engineers in Europe. If I were Michael Gove, I'd be tackling the mismatch between what schools are turning out and what industry really needs. Engineering and manufacturing companies are desperate for talent. Yet we've over 600,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds and more than 60,000 graduates working in 'shelf-stacker' jobs. Apprenticeships offer the win-win solution - meeting employers' needs and saving a lost generation who may never work or will fail to reach their true potential. Fortunately the government gets it, especially the genuinely enthusiastic Matt Hancock. But to solve a problem, you have to get to the root cause. Fundamental issues need researching and solving. Girls and boys in developing countries want careers in science and technology, yet boys – and especially girls – in developed countries do not. Our kids enjoy being science and technology users, but they don't believe such jobs are valued in society. Is it because most teachers and careers advisors don't know enough about what engineering and manufacturing really is? It is because some sections of the media only report manufacturing gloom and doom? Why is there such low female take-up of engineering apprenticeships and degrees? We are starting to make inroads with employers featuring fabulous role models like MBDA's Beth Sherbourne, Airbus's Devon Sumner and BAE Systems' Jenny Westworth. Initiatives like National Apprenticeship Week, The Big Bang, STEM Ambassadors, The Skills Show and Siemens' new education portal are also amplifying the positives. We are beginning to turn the tide and get the attention of busy teachers and advisors, but let's also get to the root cause as surely no one would deliberately mislead the next generation.