The Royal Society of Biology responds to today’s budget announcement, including their commitment to support more STEM PhD and fellowships, and investing in a stronger technical workforce for the future.

Dr Mark Downs, chief executive of the Royal Society of Biology said “We welcome today’s allocation of £300m to support 1,000 new PhD places and fellowships in STEM.

“We are also pleased to see the introduction of maintenance loans for part time undergraduates, those undertaking doctorial study and those continuing onto higher level technical study at new institutes of technology and national colleges.

“The focus on T-Levels is also encouraging and we look forward to seeing this additional investment of £500m per year, alongside an increase in training hours, come to fruition in producing a larger and stronger technical workforce, a vital component in driving scientific development. The Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education will have an important role to play in ensuring that the T-Levels meet appropriate standards, and develop competence required to enable progression into higher education or employment.

“Furthermore, the announcement of a £5m commitment to promoting ‘returnships’ is a cause we support and we are pleased to see this recognition by government of the talent of this community.

“We hope that these investments will make STEM subjects accessible to more people, offering them opportunities to learn and train via the academic or technical pathways and also supporting those returning to work after a break.”

Our website hosts a collections of resources and case studies helpful to those who are particularly interested in returning to working in biosciences.