The CBI commented last week on the Government’s announcement that it would fund student loans for 10,000 additional university places in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in the coming academic year. Universities will have to find the funding for teaching the degrees.

Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Education and Skills had this to say:

“It’s good to see government investing in the skills of the future – science, technology, engineering and maths. We’ll need more of these when the upturn comes.

Demand from businesses for ‘STEM’ graduates is only set to grow over the coming years, as the UK draws more heavily on innovation and technology for jobs, growth and global competitiveness.

Maintaining the quality of degree courses is equally vital, however, and no-one would benefit if universities and the Government tried to offer extra science courses ‘on the cheap’.”