Introduction
Submitted to: Public Accounts Committee
We sent this evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following an inquiry in May 2025. The inquiry heard from senior Department for Education officials on subjects including: the workforce required in secondary and further education, government decision-making on where to invest or intervene to address need and progress in addressing recruitment and retention issues.
The evidence submitted by EngineeringUK makes the case for greater investment in the recruitment and retention of STEM teachers. Given the government’s economic and net zero ambitions and industrial strategy, we need many more young people to choose a career in engineering and technology. We need the teaching workforce that will inspire them to do this.
Who this is for
- MPs
- Policymakers
Key recommendations
Our submission highlighted that:
- despite a recent spike in teacher recruitment, evidence shows there is more to be done to improve the recruitment and retention of secondary school teachers
- teacher recruitment targets are still not being met, and leaving rates amongst existing teachers are persistently high
- rising pupil numbers in recent years, particularly in secondary schools, have exacerbated the problem
- some of the most acute teacher shortages are in STEM subjects, with STEM teacher vacancies rising for the past decade
- evidence shows that such shortages can lead to a reliance on non-specialist teachers to teach STEM subjects, and a decline of students studying STEM subjects
We recommended:
- retain Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursaries for STEM subjects
- implement flexible working practices
- reverse cuts to STEM teacher CPD
- embed increased support for teachers within the system to improve wellbeing and workload
