Politicians are regularly accused of short-term thinking – a product of the relatively short election cycle, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it news cycle, and our increasingly volatile political discourse.
But the truth is the Coalition Government is putting in place visionary policies that will only be fully realised in five, 10 or 15 elections down the track. Innovative, long-term policies that will shape our economy, prosperity and improve standards of living for future generations.
A prime example of direct relevance to every Australian family is the Government’s investment in encouraging study in the STEM disciplines, as part of our $1.1 billion Science and Innovation Agenda.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. It’s a term that should be familiar to economists, the public, and especially parents who want to guide their children into the jobs of the future.
Most of the fastest-growing occupations in Australia - some 75 per cent - require STEM skills.
In the past decade, the bulk of job growth has occurred in industries such as health care, scientific and technical services, biotechnology, information and communication technology, and advanced manufacturing.
STEM helps develop vital problem-solving and critical reasoning skills. The students who pursue a STEM career don’t necessarily have to work for someone else because STEM skills inspire not only innovation, but also entrepreneurship.
Despite our rich history of inventions and technological innovation, Australia lags behind other OECD countries in terms of the number of students studying STEM subjects and how STEM interacts with industry to turn ideas into innovation.
And employers are saying they find it hard to recruit people with the skills needed for STEM-based occupations. Essentially, the “skills shortage” that exists is also holding back our economy.
A recent PWC report estimates if we convinced just one in a 100 people to shift to STEM roles over the next 20 years, it could increase GDP by $57.4 billion.
Yet over the past 20 years there has been a decline in the ranking of maths and science in the school curriculum – with both no longer compulsory for Year 11 and 12 students in Victoria, NSW and the ACT. And Science is not required in Queensland and South Australia in the final years of school.
There clearly needs to be a culture change in what our society values - a change towards STEM, with a focus on encouraging students who may have chosen law or arts in the past.
Increasingly we are recognising that the best place to start is with parents – who are, after all, the primary influencers of children. Just as they might nurture a talent in singing, dancing or debating, they need to be equipped to encourage the child who has a love of Leggo into engineering, or the kid who has a passion for sports statistics into maths. They need to know that students with a hunger for technology can become creators and innovators.
To inspire Australians - from pre-schoolers to the broader community - to engage with STEM in society and participate in further study, the Coalition Government is investing $48 million in a number of initiatives, including school-based programs and new teaching resources.
The very simple fact is that a new generation of Australians with a stronger grasp of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics skills is the long-term solution to creating a much stronger, diversified modern economy. And that means a more prosperous future for our nation.
Karen Andrews MP is the Assistant Minister for Science and the Liberal candidate for McPherson in Queensland.
