This project builds upon these, overcoming the negative impact of underrepresentation of girls in STEM -- a key priority for our industry partners, including in Nuclear Skills Strategy Group -- by delivering tools to support girls in building awareness/increasing confidence in decisions about their education, training and careers, and connecting them to the right opportunities. This is critical.

In 2020, women made up just 29.4% of the STEM workforce. Troublingly, girls are still being left behind, with a 2024 Teach First survey revealing girl's low confidence in science and maths as a threat to the STEM workforce. 54.3% of girls don't feel confident learning maths(vs 41.2% boys), with the gap even wider in science, with 43% of girls not confident(vs 26% boys). The Science and

Technology Framework calls for expanded opportunities for participation in STEM, widening diversity in the workforce.

Developing Expert’s market opportunity and potential for impact on increasing girls' engagement in

STEM, UK productivity, and enhancing our ability to tackle existential issues such as climate change is enormous: with Developing Experts partnering with some of the world's largest companies. Potential negative impacts include prioritising the energy sector, potentially creating skills gaps within others; mitigated by partnering across sectors (transport, IT, financial services, etc.), building inspiring (and girl-focused) content across technologies critical to multiple sectors, and developing transferable technical and softer skills.

Developing Experts is augmenting its sector-leading careers-learning platform, used by 8000+ schools, with highly-innovative AI-enabled applications to support development of the future science and technology workforce, with the right skills, capacity and motivation, in the right locations.

Its game-changing new AI and predictive analytic functionalities supports:

• Pupils: in identifying potential career pathways and placement opportunities, enabling them to build awareness and increase confidence in making informed decisions about their education, training and career choices, devoid of stereotypes and biases, driving their future with purpose.
• Teachers: in enabling automated AI lesson generation, with high-quality learning materials linked to the curriculum and to the skills that are and will be needed within rapidly evolving workplaces.
• Industry: with forecasting tools to enable prediction of future workforce challenges and opportunities and to build brand awareness with the workforce of the future.
• Government: with forecasting tools to support the UK and local-level policy making around education, skills and workforce development.

Sarah was excited to recently learn that their AI tools which are currently in BETA have recently been shortlisted for The National AI Awards 2024 in the following categories: The AI Award for Energy & Utilities; The AI Product of the Year, and; for The AI Award for Education! With the UK government’s support, the National AI Awards is an annual event designed to recognise excellence and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence in the UK. This year’s awards honours outstanding achievements across various sectors, including healthcare, financial services, gaming, and education, showcasing how AI is transforming industries and improving lives. We look forward to attending the awards ceremony on the 12th September.

Developing Experts is engaging girls, schools, industry and government in surveys and focus groups at design stages to understand their needs -- identifying requirements for specific content to inspire girls and address key confidence gaps, and to connect employers to the best local female talent; all will be involved in co-development during delivery phases.

Developing Experts targets customers across all sectors, with this project directly addressing priorities of the Nuclear Skills Taskforce, of which DE is a delivery partner, around increasing numbers of women within the sector; and providing the framework to meet needs across sectors, with existing partners and new opportunities.

Developing Experts far exceeds a state-of-the-art, uniquely bridging education, industry and government sectors to enable the joined-up action needed to maximise opportunities of future green economies and critical technologies, especially for girls. Developing Experts is game-changing in building future talent pipelines, supporting planning to meet future workforce challenges; and increasing girls'/pupils' awareness of, and confidence in pursuing, future opportunities within rapidly evolving, high-growth sectors.