Bringing employers' expertise into Scotland's biggest curriculum renewal since 2009
Scotland’s sciences curriculum is undergoing significant change, as Scottish Government undertakes the biggest curriculum renewal since 2009. We worked with Education Scotland to bring engineering and technology employers directly into the curriculum development process. Their insights informed early curriculum drafts and helped shape a wider approach to employer engagement across the whole programme.
Discover how this collaboration is bringing industry insights into curriculum development and helping young people understand the opportunities available in engineering and technology.
From renewable energy to carbon capture and storage, Scotland has exciting opportunities ahead in engineering and technology. But ensuring young people have the skills and knowledge to pursue these careers starts long before they enter the workplace.
It starts in the classroom.
Scotland is undertaking its most significant renewal of the Curriculum for Excellence since 2009, shaping learning through to 2038. This creates an important opportunity to design science education in a way that will better prepare young people for engineering and technology careers. It’s a chance to strengthen connections between learning and work.
A renewed curriculum can help young people develop the skills and knowledge employers need, whilst ensuring they understand how their learning relates to careers. In collaboration with Education Scotland we set out to make sure engineering and technology employers had a meaningful voice in the curriculum reform process.
Bringing employers into the conversation
In 2025, we co-hosted a roundtable with Education Scotland, the government agency leading the review. We brought together 11 major engineering and technology employers and representative bodies, spanning energy, infrastructure, construction and defence.
The discussion identified the knowledge, skills and understanding young people need to pursue careers in engineering and technology. It also explored how the sciences curriculum could better connect classroom learning with future careers and how employers could support educators to make those connections.
This gave industry a formal route into the early reform process, with employers’ insights and recommendations feeding directly into early curriculum drafts. The collaboration also helped inform a wider approach to employer engagement. Following the roundtable, Education Scotland established a curriculum-wide employer feedback group, creating further opportunities for businesses to contribute to the reforms.
Turning industry insight into action
We’ve continued to be involved beyond the roundtable. Together with the Royal Academy of Engineering, we reviewed a draft of the sciences curriculum. We provided feedback on how engineering and technology could be reflected within the curriculum.
This work is about more than reflecting the skills employers need. It's also about helping young people understand why the subjects they're studying matter and where those subjects could take them. Making engineering and technology more visible within the curriculum could help more young people recognise careers they might never have considered.
Looking ahead
Our involvement won't end when the curriculum is finalised. We plan to work with Education Scotland to develop learning materials and resources that help teachers bring engineering and technology to life. These resources will help students connect classroom learning with the challenges engineering and technology professionals tackle every day.
As EngineeringUK celebrates its 25th anniversary, this work demonstrates how our relationships across education and industry can help shape opportunities for young people.
By bringing employers into curriculum development, we’re helping ensure Scotland's future workforce needs are considered alongside the experiences and aspirations of young people. It's an example of collaboration between education and industry making a difference long before someone takes their first step into an engineering or technology career.
