Institution's response to the National Education Union survey

Peter Finegold, Head of Educations & Skills at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, comments on the National Education Union’s survey on teacher retention:

“The problem of teacher retention is especially challenging for engineering-related subjects such as science and maths. Analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research shows how those qualified in physics or engineering were 87% more likely to leave teaching within five years than their non-STEM colleagues.

We believe that offering financial incentives through rewarding early career teachers at key pinch-points will help increase numbers of these vital STEM teachers.

But it isn’t all about salary incentives. There needs to be greater acknowledgement that teaching in an environment where subject CPD is seen as an intrinsic part of the job – and not a luxury – boosts professional self-esteem and resilience.  

While we welcome the Government’s Early Careers framework, which will give new teachers an additional year of the kind of professional support they currently only receive in their first year, we should encourage this approach throughout a teacher’s career.”

Notes to Editors

• Contact the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Press Office on 020 7973 1261 or email media@imeche.org
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 120,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries. www.imeche.org.