STEM is a critical area if we are to meet the challenges of the future. In Australia, the current government
rhetoric about the falling participation rates in the sciences and impeding shortages across STEM is confusing given
the lack of consistency in the data. Importantly, the ambiguous and often contradictory data that are reported in
government and industry documentation simply do not align to the experiences of the general population who are
witnessing (often first-hand) the closure of significant STEM-related manufacturing companies across Australia. As
discussed in this paper, similar evidence is available for the US and UK. It is imperative that if we are to ensure an
appropriate breadth and depth in our workforce, government and industry stakeholders must access and
communicate appropriate data that are consistent and uniform in the way in which STEM is defined using analyses
that provide clarity thereby dispelling the current ‘smoke and mirrors’ that potentially cloud the area presently.