IET responds to the Bills announced in the King's Speech

“Digital innovation, sustainability and economic growth go hand in hand - it is welcoming to see that there is a focus on new technologies and education in today’s Speech, but these policies must ensure that they work with each other to achieve holistic, whole systems thinking.

“For example, in order to remain agile and competitive, the UK needs to focus on ensuring that training is available for both the existing and future workforce in new harnessing technologies to boost productivity and innovation. At the forefront of this are technologies such as AI and Digital Twins, which need robust standards and agile short courses (micro-credentials) to enable greater adoption throughout the workforce.

“Jobs of the future are only going to become more digitally focused, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education will be imperative to this. That is why we welcome the bringing together of technical and academic qualifications in the Advanced British Standard, but remain concerned that the curriculum is already full and missing key disciplines of the STEM subjects. Therefore, as recommended in our Engineering Kids’ Futures report, we believe a full review of the national curriculum is needed to ensure engineering and technology are embedded at both primary and secondary levels to empower more young people to think about a career in engineering and technology.

“At the same time, a focus on high-quality apprenticeships is going to be critical to ensuring we have skills fit for the future, but we must ensure they are flexible, transparent and industry-focused to work well for all types of business, including SMEs.”