Teaching staff need more time to devote to continued development if they are to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses in further education (FE).

These are the findings of a consultation conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), which received submissions from teaching staff, employers and learning providers.

It found that funding cuts have led to staff having less time available to them, meaning it is difficult for them to fully participate in continuing professional development. Given the rapid pace of change in STEM subjects more generally, consultees said they were concerned that time was often too tight for teachers to keep up with their subject knowledge.

In addition, they found that the professional development open to FE teaching staff was overly process-oriented, while in many cases it is tough to gain access to high quality professional development in STEM subjects at all.

Meanwhile, the consultation highlighted that staff need more opportunities to share their learning and resources as well as passing on good practice.

Perhaps this is related to the fact that problems with recruiting and retaining STEM teachers at the FE level were cited as another key concern, while trouble with engaging employers was also cited.

But crucially for learners, one of the other key themes was a lack of interest from students. At least partially due to a relative lack of awareness of the different careers available in STEM, the report found, demand for courses and training in STEM subjects is falling.

Major skills shortages are already growing in the UK, and businesses struggle to find STEM graduates with the right skills to enter key industries.

Sheila Kearney, head of research at ETF, said the consultation would enable policymakers to build on the existing support and help to “kick start a culture change in STEM provision across our sector by highlighting the key challenges we face.”