Berlin MINT specialists are considered an important pillar of the German economy, but young talent is now becoming scarce. In the 2020/21 academic year, around six percent fewer people started a MINT degree (math, computer science, natural sciences and technology) than in the previous year.
The number of first semester students from abroad even fell by 17 percent in the past academic year. One reason for this was the corona pandemic. This is shown by the new MINT young talent barometer for the National Academy for Engineering Sciences Acatech and for the Joachim Herz Foundation, which is available exclusively to the Handelsblatt.
The switching and dropout rate also gives cause for concern: in 2020 it reached a value of 53 percent. It is higher than ever, according to the authors of the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education IPN in Kiel. Olaf Köller, head of the institute, even warns that the number of graduates “prospectively decrease further”.
On the training market, too, the number of new trainees collapsed in 2020 and rose only minimally in 2021. Despite its great popularity, many STEM apprenticeships remained vacant. One problem here is the high drop-out rate among secondary school students: 36 percent of them do not complete their apprenticeship.
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In order to prevent an even greater shortage of skilled workers, the authors are now calling for countermeasures. The universities would have to solve the permanent problem that students often fail in math. “We urgently need math entrance tests at universities and mandatory bridging courses for those who have deficits,” said Köller. So far, the courses have been voluntary “and are often not used by those who need them”.
According to Köller, future engineers and natural scientists should have their own math courses, as is common in business administration or sociology. “They can’t sit with the math students and get frustrated. We cannot afford to lose every second MINT student,” he warns.
At the same time, the “welcome culture” for foreign students should also be improved. In this way, at least stable numbers of graduates could be achieved with fewer German first-year students. In the study, however, the Institute does not explain what such a welcoming culture could look like.
In order to attract more school leavers to MINT courses and vocational training, the shortage of teachers in these subjects must also be combated. Currently, these are increasingly being taught by non-specialist teachers.
There is a special problem with computer science teachers. While demand is increasing because many federal states are introducing computer science as a compulsory or elective subject, the number of new teachers is falling. In 2020, just 117 completed a teaching degree in computer science. In 2019 there were still 159.
In order to combat the shortage of teachers, Köller recommends: “We must allow the universities of applied sciences to at least train vocational school teachers – even if the universities don’t like that.” For example, students from non-academic households could have easier access to the teaching profession. “Many companies are in the midst of transition to Industry 4.0, while this trend has hardly caught on at numerous vocational schools,” says the MINT young talent barometer.
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In addition, the computer science teaching degree courses at the universities would have to be expanded. The report mentions positively that some federal states offer qualification programs for teachers of other subjects. In this way, they can train to become computer science teachers in two to three semesters.
Pandemic could exacerbate problems
In the medium term, the pandemic threatens to exacerbate the problem of young talent in the STEM field: “If we don’t compensate for the corona gaps, they will get bigger over time. This leads to even more unqualified school leavers, so that the lack of suitable applicants for STEM professions becomes even more acute,” predicts Köller, who is also co-chair of the scientific commission, which recently began advising the ministers of education.
But he is skeptical that the gaps can be filled: “Unfortunately, many countries are reluctant to diagnose exactly which students need the special support that the federal government finances with two billion euros.” go rags who need the help”.
The focus here is on children of immigrants and those who were born here and whose parents have a history of migration. They get less help at home because of language problems, for example – and also have a performance disadvantage of two school years in mathematics in the 5th grade compared to children without a migration background, according to the report. That doesn’t change much until the 12th grade. These educational differences already arise before and during elementary school: “The gaps are greatest among children of Turkish and Arabic origin,” says Köller.
As a consequence, the head of the institute demands: “We have to attract many more of these children before their third birthday to the day-care centers and support them there much more systematically.” But although this is an old demand of all education experts, “unfortunately there is still no clear commitment the family minister that the day-care centers should prepare for school,” criticized the chief adviser to the ministers of education.
More: The great waste of talent at German schools – where the next generation falls by the wayside