Dr Alan Finkel in launching Australia’s STEM Workforce Report said, “Studying STEM opens up countless job options and this report shows that Australians are taking diverse career paths”

He said that preparing students for a variety of jobs and industries was vital to sustaining the future workforce. “This report shows that STEM-qualified Australians are working across the economy. It is critical that qualifications at all levels prepare students for the breadth of roles and industries they might pursue.”

In his Australian Financial Review story, Teach STEM Subjects to Keep Economy Resilient, Dr Finkel discussed STEM jobs further,

“Based on US census figures, 74 percent of America’s working STEM graduates hold non-STEM jobs. Surely, this is a sign that the need for what STEM can teach is universal. We suspected the same pattern would hold in Australia. Australia’s STEM Workforce report from the Office of the Chief Scientist published today, is the first comprehensive attempt to survey the evidence base. It confirms that 2.3 million people with STEM qualifications at the time of the 2011 census (the most recent data available) were working right across the Australian economy. People with STEM qualifications had an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, while the unemployment rate for those with non-STEM qualifications was 4.1 percent. 85 percent of STEM qualified people worked in the private sector compared with 77 percent of non-STEM-qualified people.”

“The most common occupation? Technician and trade-worker accounting for a third of the STEM qualified population. Of the university graduates, most were professionals (55 percent) and manager (18 percent). The most common industry? Manufacturing.” 

He goes on to say “Success may not come in the most obvious form. If you leave university with a degree in mathematics, you’re more likely to become a software programmer than an actuary, mathematician or statistician.”

“To employers I and policymakers I say broaden your concept of what STEM graduates are equipped to do. To students, I say choose STEM because you enjoy it. Know that it will serve you well, if not necessarily in the way you expect. There will be new industries like fintech, demonstrating just what a PhD with a laptop can do.”

Visit  http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2016/03/media-release-where-could-stem-take-you/

Visit www.afr.com.au

For information on RDA Hunter’s STEM Skills and Workforce Development Program visit www.meprogram.com.au