KEYNOTE:
“Mind the Skills Gap – the case for prioritising STEM”
Time & Location
Thursday: 11.00 to 11.20, Stage 4
Speaker
Yvonne Baker OBEChief Executive Officer - Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
About this presentation
We live in a world where creating a more sustainable future for everyone has never been more important. And yet countries across the world are finding it as difficult as ever to find enough scientists, engineers and technicians to meet their current needs, let alone those required to scale up the new technologies so they can have a genuine impact.
Yvonne Baker, Chief Executive of IChemE, will explore issues around STEM education and skills – engaging young people, their influencers and their educators, as well as the often ignored “elephant in the room”, that we actually already have around 80% of the workforce of 2030 in the workforce of today.
She will also talk about why we need governments and others to prioritise efforts and spending on STEM to ensure that we retain a vibrant society and economy where science, the arts and human progress in its widest sense can thrive.
Speaker Bio:
Following a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, Yvonne worked as an engineer in manufacturing before moving into management consultancy and studying for an MBA. In 2002, Yvonne moved into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector to establish the Science and Engineering (now STEM) Ambassadors volunteering programme. She joined STEM Learning as Chief Executive in 2010, significantly growing the organisation’s reach and impact to become the UK’s largest provider of STEM support.
An Engineering Council Trustee from 2010 to 2016, Yvonne also previously served as Co-Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Education and Skills Panel.
Yvonne was privileged to give the Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) Distinguished Lecture at the University of Birmingham in 2020 and was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the late Queen’s New Year 2022 Honours List for services to STEM education.