Response to the Wakeham Review of STEM Degree Provision and Graduate Employability Survey

Q4 – STEM Disciplines

To what extent do you agree that recent graduates from the STEM disciplines below meet the employability requirements of employers?

In considering your answer, some possible indicators of issues with employability might be:

Graduates in the disciplines struggle to find employment
Unemployment in the disciplines is higher than you would expect
Graduates in the disciplines are paid lower than average salaries
Business or industry have difficulty recruiting graduates with the knowledge and skills they require

Response: Disagree (for Mathematical Sciences)

Comment: Data from NSS Surveys from Mathematical Sciences students, compared to some other STEM subjects, and information from independent websites [e.g. http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options mathematics.htm gives information on salaries and employment prospects from DHLE] provide appropriate evidence.

Q5 – General questions (under PSRB organisation category)

Please describe up to three difficulties around graduate employability in the STEM disciplines you have identified above.

Employers report that difficulties exist in Mathematics graduates providing evidence of transferable skills, competencies and relevant work experiences.
Incorporating more generic skills into MSOR degree programmes in such a way as to improve employability of maths graduates while not detracting from the more fundamental skills learnt in a general first mathematics degree.
Raising the awareness from within a wide range of discipline areas of the importance of graduates attaining relevant mathematical skills. In addition, alert policy makers and leaders in Industry and Technology to be aware of how research enabled by mathematics influences so many areas of modern life.

What concrete evidence is available or could be provided to support each of the difficulties you have identified in the previous question?

You may wish to arrive at your view using your own sources of information, for example reports, data sets, or analyses carried out either by your organisation or by a third party; or by analysis of the information available through HEFCE’s website.

Graduates of mathematics, statistics and operational research (MSOR) programmes have an extremely wide choice of careers available to them. Employers greatly value the intellectual ability, rigour, logical thinking and abstract reasoning that graduates acquire, their familiarity with numerical and symbolic thinking, and the analytic approach to problem solving that is their hallmark. These skills, when developed alongside more generic skills (such as communication and team-working skills) make mathematics, statistics and operational research graduates highly employable. Aspects of mathematics, statistics and operational research may be found in joint programmes with many other subjects.

Further information on Career opportunities for MSOR graduates is indicated in the QAA Subject Benchmark Document (May 2015) for bachelor and integrated masters degrees. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-Mathematics-15.pdf.

As both a learned and professional society, the IMA takes a great interest in the role of mathematics and mathematicians in the commercial and industrial spheres. Delegates typically include representatives from academia, industry and commerce, specialists in employability skills, students and recent graduates.

1. A series of Employability Forums have been organised to bring together the stakeholders in this process so that views can be exchanged and best practice shared.

http://www.ima.org.uk/ db/ documents/mt empovabilitv0812.pdf

www.ima.org.uk/…/first employers forum employability of graduates – september 2012.cfm.html

An extensive source of information is available to students and graduates of mathematics, statistics and operational research programmes via the website www.mathscareers.org.uk.

2. The IMA Statement on Employability is:

Traditionally, Mathematics, although not an outright ‘vocational subject’, is widely recognised as a subject foundation for employability to much of science, technology, education and engineering. More recently, finance, commerce and cyber-applications have demanded mathematicians for an ever widening and developing global market in a digitally and data-rich era.

Typically, the most widely accepted employment options for Mathematics graduates are accountancy, actuarial sciences, finance and teaching, and this remains so for many large employers. However the role of ‘analyst’ is emerging strongly in a vast range of both new and traditional businesses in which there is greater emphasis on algorithmic approaches arising from digital technology, use of big data sets , security, communication and computer-based technology.

The common language of mathematics is being required increasingly across the employment sector. Mathematics graduates perceive their subject benefits as an opportunity to work in a range of sectors, and a flexibility to change career directions as required. They are attracted to many potentially interesting areas of work where they would be able to use their specialist skills/learning.

Graduates from mathematical programmes have a strong numerate base but within an increasingly global competitive framework these are not the only requirements. Employers are looking for mathematically skilled graduates who also exhibit an awareness of and acuity in essential generic or transferable skills such as team work and written and verbal communication. Increasingly available within, or from, Maths courses are a broader range of curriculum options, extra-university activities or summer internships which provide these skills.

Recruiters are actively seeking mathematics graduates for their enhanced quantitative, numerical, statistical and analytical training, supplemented by interpersonal skills and some in-depth experience of problem solving in a range of applications.

The IMA has consistently argued the skills learnt and practised in a first mathematics degree (MSOR) always include problem solving in a technical context, precise logical thinking, and mastering difficult and often abstract concepts. The IMA has emphasized that these technical and conceptual skills are very important and are valued by employers. They are also of the greatest importance for the continued innovative development of MSOR disciplines themselves.

Incorporating more generic skills into MSOR degree programs, in such a way as to improve employability while not detracting from the more traditional MSOR skills, has been the subject of much work and innovation over recent years. The IMA was one of the four professional bodies partnered to the HE-STEM programme. This programme has published a series of studies on employability, designed to spread good practice among universities. The studies are available at http://www.hestem.ac.uk/resources.

3. A notable initiative highlighting the importance and influence of mathematics for ongoing and future employability is from the IMA ‘Mathematics Matters’ initiative, see: http://www.ima.org.uk/i love maths/mathematics matters.cfm.html.

An EPSRC report commissioned from Deloitte on the economic benefits of mathematical science research in the UK reflects the excellence of the UK mathematics research base, and the impressive and far-reaching impact of the mathematical sciences. A report [download PDF] looked at mathematical science occupations, defined as occupations which either entail mathematical science research or which use tools and techniques derived from mathematical science research. The report estimates the contribution of mathematical science to the UK economy in 2010 to be quite remarkable: 2.8 million in employment terms (around 10 per cent of all jobs in the UK).

Sectors contributing to this impact include Computer Services, Finance, Aerospace, Telecommunications, Research and Development, Pharmaceuticals, Public Administration and Defence. The impact of data analytics, and its contribution to innovation and new investment, is particularly noted.