STEM in Scottish schools is receiving a boost of £320,000 to help develop the nation’s future workforce. 

Science festivals across the country will also benefit from the funding, aiming to promote the benefits of STEM knowledge to school pupils. 

National STEM programmes Generation Science and the Young Engineers and Science Clubs will benefit from a total amount of £100,000. More than 100,000 pupils across Scotland have benefitted from both initiatives.

Those from remote and deprived areas are of particular focus of the new stream of funding as a means to lupgrade STEM studies around Scotland. 

The funding supports the Scottish Government’s STEM Education and Training Strategy and the commitment to equip communities and young people with STEM skills to tackle current and real life challenges, including climate change and health related issues.

Currently, around one in ten jobs in Scotland are in the tech industry, and Scotland is in desperate need of a tech-savvy workforce across all industries. 

“We are working hard to ensure we maximise the number of people highly educated and skilled in STEM to adapt to the challenges of today and in the future,” Minister for Further Education, Higher Education, Youth Employment and Training Jamie Hepburn said.

Young Engineers and Science Clubs will receive up to £45,000 of the funding to bolster their support for STEM learning and teaching via their network of school-based clubs. 

Generation Science, who develop workshops and resources to support STEM learning, can receive up to £55,000.

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“These initiatives can help inspire a generation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and innovators, and develop the talent which will be required in our future workforce,” Hepburn said.

Further, science festivals will benefit from grants ranging from £7,000 to £65,000. These festivals will take place not only in major cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, but in more remote parts of Scotland including Orkney and Caithness. 

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