^{Date:              6 August 2008
Embargo:       None}

Higher Education at Work Consultation Response

ESA has responded to the consultation of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on higher education at work: “high skills, high value” stating how ESA’s Members experience difficulty in attracting quality UK graduates in strongly numerate disciplines and the Government must incentivise pupils to take harder courses in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

ESA argued that incentives for STEM subjects could take the form of reduced tuition fees or the provision of higher grants for candidates and suggested that the Government may wish to consider how higher education establishments could be incentivised with this aim in mind.

ESA also highlighted commercial awareness as another much sought after quality in potential employees, but is not something delivered by most environmental sector degree modules, and argued that encouragement of sector-specific MBA courses could also help in this regard. An assessment of cooperation between University departments linked to facilitating the provision of multidisciplinary courses would also be welcome given that this is something the waste management sector relies upon.

ENDS

Notes to editors  Details of the DIUS Consultation