Today the Treasury published the Autumn Budget. Beatrice Barleon, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at EngineeringUK, reflects on what this means for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and for pathways into engineering and technology careers.
Beatrice Barleon, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at EngineeringUK, comments:
“The Autumn Budget arrived at a pivotal moment for skills reform, with the recent post-16 skills white paper highlighting the declining provision of apprenticeships for young people, including in key Industrial Strategy growth sectors.
“The Chancellor’s decision to fully fund SME apprenticeships for young people under 25 – up from age 22 currently – will help to break down barriers to SME participation in apprenticeships. However, government must go further with additional wrap-around support for SMEs. We also welcome the commitment to invest an additional £725m in the Growth and Skills Levy over the next five years, and look forward to seeing further detail ahead of April 2026.
“The government must ensure that this funding uplift is adequately targeted at young people and at filling critical skills gaps within sectors with the greatest employment demand, such as engineering and technology. Many of these are likely to be entry-level apprenticeships. Skills England are forecasting that over a third (34%) of the increased employment demand in the IS-8 sectors over the next decade will be in Levels 2 and 3 occupations.
“To deliver a resilient engineering and technology workforce in the long-term, government must ensure this investment is matched by an equal scale of ambition in the pre-18 education system. It should adopt a joined-up approach to talent development across pre- and post-18 by investing in high-quality STEM education for young people. This should be delivered both through lessons and STEM outreach activities, and ensure young people are informed and inspired through modern careers advice and guidance in schools.”
Find out more about EngineeringUK’s policy and public affairs work here.
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Notes to editors
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About EngineeringUK
EngineeringUK is a not-for-profit organisation that drives change so more young people choose engineering and technology careers. Our mission is to enable more young people from all backgrounds to be inspired, informed and progress into engineering and technology.
We work closely with our Corporate Members and in partnership with hundreds of organisations. We lead collaborative efforts to improve the impact of all engineering and tech inspiration and careers activities for young people through Tomorrow’s Engineers and managing The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code.
We ignite a passion for STEM among young people from all backgrounds through EUK Education and our school engagement programmes such as The Big Bang. Our careers resources help teachers bring STEM to life through real-world engineering and tech stories via Neon.
Our research and evidence build insight into the current workforce and our future needs. And our evaluations build understanding of what really works to inspire and inform the next generation. We also advocate for policy development in STEM and careers education and workforce planning for engineering and tech.
