Today our guest is Crispian Lees is a qualified Engineer, AP Mathematics Educator, Physical Science Educator & Head of Education at Advantage Learn.

• Yesterday the world observed STEM day which is an international initiative focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• Millions of STEM jobs are projected to go unfilled with an estimated 3.5 million jobs in this sector needing to be filled by 2025.
• In South Africa, We have a huge backlog in these scarce skills.
• Over the past five to ten years, there has been an increased focus on STEM careers in response to gradually declining numbers of matriculants choosing these subjects.
• However, despite this focus, the number of learners electing core mathematics as a subject in matric has not improved, which excludes then from pursuing tertiary studies in STEM fields.
• The New York Academy of Sciences estimates that sub-Saharan Africa needs 2.5-million more engineers to address the continent’s development problems.