Schools are not preparing pupils for work in the future, report suggests

Forty-five per cent of adults between the ages of 20 and 35 working in STEM related roles believe that subjects they studied in school are useless when it comes to working, a new report shows.

According to a report by charity Baker Dearing Educational Trust, young STEM workers think there should be a better connection between employees and schools.

The findings show that out of 1,000 adults working in STEM roles, 61 per cent found that learning technical skills at school would have been more useful than learning a traditional subject.

Sixty per cent did not believe teachers had an understanding of the labour market, while 63 per cent felt schools did not understand the skills that employees are looking for.

In addition to this, 55 per cent of respondents admitted that they did not understand how the subjects they learnt at school could be used in the world of work.

Lord Baker, chairman of Baker Dearing Educational Trust, commented: “As we head towards Brexit, the challenge for our education system is to ensure we equip students with the skills they need to forge successful careers in key areas like science, engineering and computing, which our economy increasingly demands.

“The report shows that the current education system fails to provide these young people with opportunities to develop the technical skills they need to get the jobs they want.”