Why design should be rated alongside science

Even though this particular blog site sets out to look at CEIAG provision for the 16 to 19 year olds, I  took some time out recently to read and reflect on an interesting article  in the Belfast Telegraph outlining plans for primary school children to be given careers advice as young as seven.
 Avril Hall Callaghan, general secretary of the Ulster Teachers' Union responded by saying that encouraging children to think about their future could be a positive thing, if sensitively handled. Her response also included a call for the Careers Service to operate within school at a much earlier stage than KS4, which is current practice. There is enough research already done to indicate that young people are thinking about their careers long before the later stages of secondary education.

I don't believe that anyone in government would advocate narrowing a child's aspiration or dissuade them from a potential career choice which at the age of seven they don't even yet know exists. Commenting on the plan Ed Balls, Children's Secretary, said that a radical change is needed in careers advice, as it is too late for children to start thinking about their future at 14 years old, when they start choosing subjects at secondary school.

Practically every regional and national newspaper regularly carry articles on the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects within schools as key to supporting a skills gap. NI has been identified as the region with the lowest number of graduating STEM students. It has been recommended that educational establishments here increase by 25% the numbers of students, especially those from from disadvantaged communities at graduate and post graduate level studying STEM subjects by 2015.  Influencing these tagets arguably begins in primary school!

There is no doubt that The World Around Us theme currently covered in KS2 provides ample opportunity to bring the importance of STEM to the primary cohort which they can then build on when they progress to secondary level.  Personally, what I would like to see right from the beginning of Year 8 at secondary level is an emphasis on the importance of Maths within STEM. It is too often the case that when young people make up their minds that their futures do not lie within the STEM careers, that Maths is neglected only for the subject to rear its head later in life to 'haunt' them . This situation was underscored recently in a Belfast Telegraph article where three young adults, university educated with professional qualifications and in work, returned to the South East Regional College (SERC) to sit their GCSE Maths. Failing to have the GCSE Maths qualification when they left school had a negative effect on each of their individual course choices and eventual career promotion paths.

Returning to the STEM agenda, Professor Elaine Thomas, vice-chancellor, University for the Creative Arts, read more wrting in the EducationGuardian 15/12/2010 argues quite cogently that design should be rated alongside science. Her position is that higher education has a responsibility to provide a workforce with the design capability and high level technical design skills to generate growth in key industries with the potential to support the UK's economic health.

Within the Higher Ambitions report read more from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills it specifically calls for 'enhanced support for STEM subjects - degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. Thomas cautions that 'the exclusion of design subjects from STEM ignores the coterminous nature of these subjects, with science in the employment market and the strategic significance of design as a contributor to the economy.'

The government's Digital Britain report read more demonstrates that the creative industries sector read more is in a good position to lead Britain out of recession. Britain's creative practitioners are in high demand globally.  The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts predict that between 2009 and 2013 the creative industries sector will grow by an average of 4%, more than double the rest of the economy.

Design is closely allied to innovation and is widely recognised as a crucial ingredient in maintaining competiveness in increasingly competitive markets. There are many global examples to demonstrate the economic advantages of the interaction between design and technology. The incredible success of the Apple iPod, iMac and iPhone, designed by Jonathan Ive, a British designer educated in the UK, is not a consequence of the hardware. It is the design of an intuitive user interface that allows users to customise and share media.. Games designers are in increasing demand.  This  year, despite the economic downturn that saw hardware sales achieve just a 16% increase, Sony sold 103.7 million games, amounting to a 79% increase on the previous year's sales. The UK requires more investment from government if is to remain foremeost in a world market where its position is being undermined by emerging countries such as Canada and South Korea. These countries are delivering ever more computer games design courses.

With the worldwide digital economy set to be worth 1 trillion dollars by 2010, support for the creative sector is needed now.  The UK needs to focus on education to develop the creative talent and high level design skills required to exploit the growth potential in this sector. Redefining STEM to include design would  send a message that the UK is serious about nurturing its young talent. It would signal that the UK is embracing the changing economic age. Let's start by being proactive in our schools through the encouragement of the creative industries and design in particular from the beginning of the pupil's school career!