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Increased uptake of STEM subjects at A-Level is promising

17th August 2017

SAS Institute

Alice Matthews

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Today's A-Level results show a significant increase in the uptake of STEM subjects. In response to the news, Charles Senabulya, Vice President and Country Manager of SAS UKI, commented: "The uptake in STEM grades demonstrates that students are aware of the potential these skills will have in securing a career in our data-driven economy. Today, we must capture this enthusiasm and build a solid foundation for the future in areas of analytics, business intelligence and data management to ensure the UK can compete on the global stage.

“The arrival of artificial intelligence, robotics and smart technologies will help automate previously manual tasks and drive a change in tomorrow’s job roles. British businesses are looking for ways to action insight from captured data now more than ever. Why? To give them a competitive advantage in our digital-first society. And it will be those students with a solid understanding of STEM who will help unlock this edge.

“For students entering the workforce either now or after they have completed their university education, job titles like ‘data strategist’ and ‘data scientist’ will be commonplace. These are real world opportunities available to today’s students. In fact, our research shows that big data and the internet of things could add £322bn to the UK economy by 2020, and there is a strong demand for those skilled to work in these fields.

“To get there, we need to make a concerted effort to focus our support on young people in these subjects throughout schools and colleges, and encourage them to broaden their knowledge at university. Only then will we be on the path to creating a data-driven culture that ensures the UK remains at the forefront of innovation in the years to come.”