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The STEM requirements of “Non-STEM” jobs: Evidence from UK online vacancy postings

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  • Grinis, Inna

Abstract

Are employers in “non-STEM” occupations (e.g. Graphic Designers, Economists) interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates because of the knowledge and skills they acquired through their STEM education (e.g. “C++”, “Systems Engineering”) or simply because of their problem solving and analytical abilities? This is an important question in the UK where less than half of STEM graduates work in STEM occupations, and where this apparent leakage from the “STEM pipeline” is often considered as a wastage of resources. To address it, this paper goes beyond the discrete divide of occupations into STEM vs. non-STEM: using UK online vacancy postings, we measure STEM requirements at the level of jobs, by classifying each posting as either STEM or non-STEM based on its job description text instead of its occupation identifier. We find that 35% of all STEM jobs belong to non-STEM occupations, and that 15% of all vacancies posted in non-STEM occupations are in fact STEM jobs. Moreover, STEM jobs are associated with higher wages within both STEM and non-STEM occupations.

Suggested Citation

  • Grinis, Inna, 2019. "The STEM requirements of “Non-STEM” jobs: Evidence from UK online vacancy postings," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 144-158.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:70:y:2019:i:c:p:144-158
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.02.005
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Turrell, Arthur & Thurgood, James & Djumalieva, Jyldyz & Copple, David & Speigner, Bradley, 2018. "Using online job vacancies to understand the UK labour market from the bottom-up," Bank of England working papers 742, Bank of England.
    2. Arendt, Lukasz & Gałecka-Burdziak, Ewa & Núñez, Fernando & Pater, Robert & Usabiaga, Carlos, 2023. "Skills requirements across task-content groups in Poland: What online job offers tell us," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    3. Jyldyz Djumalieva & Antonio Lima & Cath Sleeman, 2018. "Classifying Occupations According to Their Skill Requirements in Job Advertisements," Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers ESCoE DP-2018-04, Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
    4. Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Contini, Dalit & De Rosa, Dalila & Ferrara, Francesca & Piazzalunga, Daniela & Robutti, Ornella, 2024. "Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    5. Filippo Bontadini & Francesco Vona, 2023. "Anatomy of Green Specialisation: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995–2015," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(3), pages 707-740, August.
    6. Elodie Andrieu & Malgorzata Kuczera, 2023. "Minimum Wage and Skills -Evidence from Job Vacancy Data," Working Papers 034, The Productivity Institute.
    7. Marialuisa Divella & Alessia Lo Turco & Alessandro Sterlacchini, 2023. "Local labour tasks and patenting in US commuting zones," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(5), pages 1097-1119.
    8. Bi, Sharon & Buontempo, Jenny & DiSalvo, Richard W., 2022. "The effects of accelerated mathematics on self-efficacy and growth mindset," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Victoria Kakooza & Robert Wamala & James Wokadala & Thomas Bwire, 2019. "Are Graduates from the Arts-Related Academic Disciplines More Productive than those from the Science-Related Disciplines?," International Journal of Higher Education, Sciedu Press, vol. 8(3), pages 226-226, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    STEM education; Skills shortages; Machine learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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