Career resources for STEM teachers

Closing the gap

As career educators and professionals, it is our duty to help close the gap and to educate students, parents and other teachers about the importance of encouraging and inspiring girls to consider STEM subjects and careers. A recent report for the Office of the Chief Scientist into Australia’s fastest growing industries highlights the need to improve Australia’s STEM capability in education and work.

'STEM skills and knowledge will be key to unlocking future jobs, not only within the STEM fields but across all industries' (Deloitte 2014).

What is not always clear to students, parents and educators is that STEM skills are broadly beneficial and transferable across industries and roles that involve critical thinking and problem-solving, analytic capabilities, curiosity and imagination (PwC 2015). All these have been identified as critical ‘survival skills’ in the workplace of the future.

Opportunities across STEM

'Today’s young people are likely to change jobs 17 times across five different careers in their working lives' (FYA 2017).

The ability to make these transitions will partly depend on the skills that young people acquire at school – and on their sense of flexibility, adaptability and resilience. Given the diversity of skills young people will require to thrive in the future workforce, it is essential that we educate them about the transferability of STEM discipline skills across many different careers and opportunities.

See below for a set of resources curated specifically to assist you as a dedicated specialist providing career development education. These resources are designed for use within STEM-related career education classes, to highlight opportunity awareness and labour market information, to provide inspirational female role models, and to help students understand the broader concept of STEM as an innovative and important industry. Through these resources, career educators and specialists can start to disprove STEM stereotypes and encourage girls to view themselves as tomorrow’s leaders.