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Concerns for future workforce as girls turn off from engineering and science
A stark gender gap in young people ’ s interest in engineering and science and a sharp decline in practical science have been identified through a new survey by the Royal Society in partnership with EngineeringUK , with support from Wellcome .
The third Science Education Tracker looked at the responses of 7,000 young people around their attitudes to and experience of science education and careers . The results make worrying reading given current and projected future workforce shortages across engineering and technology .
Engineering careers are seen as creative and versatile by most school students and over half young people believe they could become an engineer if they wanted to . However , for those not interested in a STEM ( science , technology , engineering and maths ) career , girls are more likely than boys to say this is because they don ’ t enjoy the subjects ( 57 % vs 41 %) and that they don ’ t feel they are good at them ( 38 % vs 20 %).
Across all age groups , boys report much higher knowledge of engineering careers than girls and are more likely to say engineering is something for them . Only 12 % of girls say being an engineer fits well with who they are compared to 38 % of boys . And just 16 % of girls think a career in engineering is suitable for someone like them , this is up at 44 % of boys .
Doing practical science is the key motivator to learning science ( 52 % of year 7 to 9 students ), with girls statistically more likely to say this . Yet , opportunities for handson practicals are in decline in school , with only 26 % of GCSE students doing practical work at least once a fortnight . With 70 % of students across secondary schools saying they want to do more and the appetite for more practical work is higher among students who are generally less engaged with science . This includes students who say they aren ’ t interested in science or who see science as ‘ not for me ’. 32 % of young people in years seven to 13 are in the ‘ not for me ’ group and this group is more likely to include girls . Indeed , 36 % of girls say science is not for them .
Trimble acquires construction payment and subcontractor compliance technology to minimise risk and improve efficiency for contractors
Trimble Pay , initially integrates with the capabilities of the Trimble Viewpoint Vista ERP solution for construction and extends the robust connected construction technology ecosystem that Trimble Construction One brings to market .
T rimble has announced it has acquired privately-held Flashtract , a company delivering specialised technology to streamline the flow of payment and compliance information between construction general contractors and subcontractors .
Flashtract technology is used to manage payment applications , lien waivers and other compliance and billing documentation electronically , eliminating back-and-forth communication and cumbersome document transfers . The technology , now branded as
“ Secure , reliable and fast electronic management of payments and lien waivers can be vital benefits to contractors , but many still manage these processes manually ,” said Lawrence Smith , Vice President of Construction Management Solutions at Trimble . “ Adding the ability to manage these workflows with subs electronically through Trimble Pay helps contractors improve compliance and keep projects on schedule and budget by reducing the two to three days of manual work per month by project managers or accountants .”
“ We have earned a strong reputation for enabling general contractors to minimise legal and financial risk and improve efficiency since introducing our technology in 2019 ,” said Blair Chenault , Co-founder and CEO of Flashtract . “ Joining Trimble will allow our teams to advance these capabilities and help contractors make payments on time , and keep management of financial and compliance documents from hampering project delivery .”
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