Celebrating technical education in 2023, looking ahead to 2024

As we approach 2024 it is important take this opportunity to look back on the wonderful successes in the technical education space over this past year and thank all the students, educators, businesses, legislators and industry leaders who have made it possible!??

2024 will herald in yet another landmark year for Gatsby with the full review of the Gatsby Benchmarks in the autumn, further investigations into teacher recruitment and retention, and the launch of the Technical Education Networks (TENs) programme.??

Read below for our look back on 2023 and for teasers to come in 2024.??

From everyone at Gatsby Education, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!?

January: T-levels for parents campaign kicked off our 2023?

As part of Gatsby’s work to better engage parents in careers and technical education, we kicked off 2023 with our T-levels for parents campaign –? with adverts on the back of buses and on billboards across England. We also met with colleagues from the Careers & Enterprise Company, Amazing Apprenticeships, Skills Builder and Learning with Parents to garner insight and feedback to shape plans for the year ahead for our Talking Futures campaign .?

IoT toolkits for businesses?

It was estimated that 75% of UK businesses would experience a shortage in higher technical skills in 2023 and would struggle to recruit a workforce that met their business needs. We created a toolkit for business intermediaries to make them aware of the opportunities available to them by connecting with local education providers through their local Institute of Technology – from support with skills development, to recruitment, apprenticeships, and access to research facilities.?

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February: BBC Bitesize at Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery?

?Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery was proud to host BBC Bitesize Careers at the Science Museum to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week. A live lesson was streamed to all secondary schools, featuring technician apprentices Jade, a Power Networks Technician, Tyler, a Simulation Technician and Phoebe, a Technical Theatre Apprentice. The live recording of this can be watched here .?

Engineering & Manufacturing sector support for T-levels?

As part of Gatsby’s work to support employer take-up of Engineering and Manufacturing T-level industry placements, we announced a new partnership with Engineering UK, Enginuity, Make UK and the Royal Academy of Engineering to signal the sector’s backing of T-levels as a new, high-quality technical qualification. The four organisations will work with Gatsby – supported by the Department for Education - over the next two years to ensure that employers within their networks have the tools and information needed to benefit from everything T-levels have to offer.?

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March: UK Institute of Technical Skills and Strategy announced?

In March Gatsby welcomed the announcement of the new UK Institute of Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS) . This institute is funded by Research England, hosted by the University of Nottingham, and through collaborations with the Gatsby Foundation is addressing the technician skills shortage in academia. The Gatsby-funded Technician Commitment within the ITSS aims to increase visibility and support for technical skills, roles, and careers in higher education and research.?

Day in the life of a T-levels student?

Knowing that lack of understanding – and fear of something new – can prevent parents from being supportive of their child taking a T-level, we invited two parents to experience a day in the life of a T-level student. Taking place in London and Yorkshire, we captured some great content that featured in our T-level Parents Campaign activity in March. Videos can be found here and here .?

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April: Celebrating technicians?

Gatsby held a ‘Technician Celebration Event’? at the Science Museum, to thank all technicians involved in the Technicians: We Make the Difference website, campaign and gallery. Employers and technicians from Hydram Engineering spoke, along with David Sainsbury, who thanked everyone involved.?

Helping parents be career confident?

We worked with Dr Nihara Krause – a multi-award-winning Clinical Psychologist, specialising in teenage and adult mental health – to create top tips for parents looking to influence their reluctant teens and engage them in more meaningful and constructive conversations around their future education and career options after Gatsby research revealed that 3 in 5 teenagers felt more confident following their dream career path after speaking to their parents.?

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May: Early career teachers and Museum Awards?

As part of our research into teacher recruitment and retention, Gatsby funded Teacher Tapp to review how the Early Careers Framework (ECF) affects the experiences of new teachers. The report highlighted three key areas for improvement: review of the training provided by ECF; the desire for specialist materials tailored to subjects and phases, and improved timetabling allocations for secondary early career teachers.?

Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery was shortlisted for 'Permanent Exhibition of the Year' at the Museum and Heritage Awards , which celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions.??

June: The Big Bang Fair?

Technicians: We Make the Difference sponsored the Schools Day at the The Big Bang Fair and spoke to hundreds of young people on the stand, giving them the opportunity to find their ideal technician career on our interactive quiz, and meet real technicians showing elements of their jobs and answering questions about what they do.?

Teacher recruitment and retention challenges?

Our 2023 report on teacher recruitment and retention was published by Teacher Tapp. It highlighted the difficulties that secondary schools face, with job advertisements having increased by 12% since 2022, and a record-breaking 13% of secondary teachers reporting unfilled vacancies within their subject departments.?

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July: Institutes of Technology conference?

Over 130 representatives from employers and education providers came together at the Institute of Directors to share their successes and ambitions as part of the National Network of Institutes of Technology. SMEs to multinational business, from sectors ranging from aerospace to healthcare, discussed how they are tackling STEM skills shortages, net zero challenges and workforce diversification, and explored opportunities for employers, further education colleges and universities in England to work more collaboratively on higher level skills.?

T-levels conference in Manchester?

The first Technical Education Networks conference took place in Manchester, bringing together teachers, employers, awarding bodies and other stakeholders to discuss learnings and best practice for Digital, Healthcare Science and Science T-levels. More to follow in 2024!?

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August: Technicians: We Make the Difference campaign receives the 2023 Royal Society Hauksbee Award?

Over 100 technicians from the Technicians: We Make the Difference campaign and Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery were chosen to receive the 2023 Royal Society Hauksbee Award ‘for their tireless efforts in tackling the critical technician skills shortage and their invaluable contributions to various industries’.?

September: Technicians hit the road with BBC Bitesize Schools Tour?

Technicians: We Make the Difference have joined the BBC Bitesize Schools Tour, visiting secondary schools across the country. The technicians speak on panels about their role, what they do and why they enjoy it, inspiring young people about technical careers.?

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October: How to make the most of Local Skills Improvement Plans?

In October Gatsby published a report from Think Consultancy that identified four key learnings from the development of new Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). Gatsby recommended that:?

1. Employer Representative Bodies (ERBs) ask employers about their recruitment difficulties.?
2. Occupational maps should be used to support the definition of strategic priorities.?
3. ERBs be sufficiently supported to increase their understanding of the current tech ed landscape.?
4. Greater clarity is received on whether changes in processes will result in delivery of LSIP priorities.?

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November: The T-team of T-level backers expands?

As part of the T-level Parents campaign, we assembled a group of celebrity experts to encourage parents to explore T-levels as a possible route for young people into their respective sectors (digital, healthcare and construction). Coinciding with new research that revealed employers are struggling to hire young people, and simultaneously young people don’t feel confident in their experience to get into the world of work. T-levels are positioned to offer a potential solution to both - video can be viewed here .?

Support for Gatsby Benchmarks clear in interim findings of ten-year review?

Given the changes to education and the labour market that have taken place since 2014, we have been revisiting the Gatsby Benchmarks and listening to the sector to ensure they continue to have impact in the future!?

Our Interim findings report shows a snippet of the extensive survey of 1,200 educations and business stakeholders. From this it is clear that the Benchmarks are both used, and useful with 94% see them as a valuable framework for career guidance. Look out for the full report in 2024!?

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December: Shadow Minister for Schools visits the Science Museum?

In December we were fortunate enough to host the Shadow Minister for Schools, Catherine McKinnell MP, at Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery.???

The Shadow Minister heard from our?Head of STEM in Schools, Jenni French, on Gatsby’s?thoughts on how to tackle the teacher recruitment and retention crisis. McKinnell also had the chance to meet career guidance practitioners from across the country who were holding a roundtable at the museum to discuss the interim findings of the review of the Gatsby Benchmarks and assess any potential refinements.?