FMQS: John Swinney under pressure to increase STEM teacher numbers

First Minister John Swinney faced calls to recommit to increasing STEM teacher numbers at First Minister Question’s after the government missed a key target.

Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said 272 math teachers were being trained, only a third of the initial goal of 750.

He said: “It [the Scottish Government] has missed that target by a country mile, training only a third of the maths teachers that Scotland needs.”

Swinney acknowledged the “challenges” in recruiting people for the roles but said the government was engaging with local authorities “to ensure” the objective is met.

Cole-Hamilton said Swinney lacked “the hunger and passion” to fix the issue, adding it would risk Scotland's resilience to the “economic firestorm” caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

He said: “It is not just maths—it is chemistry, physics and biology,  each of which has hundreds of trainee teachers short. The government says that there is an economic urgency to address our digital skills shortage, yet it is training only 16 computing teachers this year. We need home-grown skills if we are going to lead in industries such as renewables, AI, defence and precision medicine.”

Earlier this month new census data showed the number of computing science teachers at a record low, with only 550 teachers nationwide in 2024 to cater to the more than 2,500 schools.

And last year the government came under significant fire from opposition parties during a debate on the tech sector’s future, during which it was accused of “complacency” over skills shortages affecting the industry.

But the first minister said the government had delivered “its side of the bargain” in relation to funding for local authorities.

He said: “The government is well-sighted on the issues that have been faced by individual sectors as a consequence of the unwelcome changes in international trading arrangements, which generate a great deal of volatility. We will work with our local authority partners to increase teacher numbers. That was one of the central commitments in the budget process that we negotiated with our local authority colleagues.”

He added: "I assure Mr Cole-Hamilton that there is no lack of energy in government to ensure that our schools are well supported with the needs of children and young people in Scotland today.”