Estonia ranks last among European countries in terms of the availability of engineers and although the Ministry of Education has directed €37 million in European funding toward the Engineering Academy program, the large investment may not guarantee the expected results.

"Although the state is currently investing in vocational and higher education, less attention has been paid to what is happening in general education and extracurricular education and that is where the root causes of the shortage of engineers lie," said National Audit Office audit manager Rauno Vinni.

According to Vinni, many young people lose interest in STEM subjects in basic school and when discussing the pipeline of future engineers, one of the biggest challenges is how to make STEM subjects practical and engaging for young people.

The audit also highlights students' weak mathematics skills as a concern, noting that one in four basic school graduates lacks a basic understanding of mathematics. Another problem is the uneven level of STEM subject teachers.

"It is precisely this unevenness across Estonia's different regions that has led to a situation where in some areas these teachers are available and in others they are not, and it is also the state's and the Ministry of Education's task to level out these disparities and provide teachers with support so they can offer more engaging STEM instruction," Vinni said.

The Ministry of Education does not agree with the National Audit Office's criticism and according to Deputy Secretary General Renno Veinthal, the Engineering Academy has been entirely appropriate. He said it is still too early to assess its full impact, but some results are already visible.

"The attractiveness of engineering-related fields has increased significantly. The number of students entering engineering fields has grown by more than 40 percent over the years. Dropout rates from engineering programs have also fallen significantly, by 10 percent," Veinthal said.

However, the Ministry of Education acknowledges that the quality of teaching in natural sciences and STEM subjects needs to improve in schools. According to Eneli Kindsiko, an expert at the Foresight Center, one problem is class sizes that are too large.

"Another thing we do not want to admit, but which reports from abroad highlight, is the effect of a poor teacher. Are all teachers sufficiently good? In every profession there are people who should not be in that profession," Kindsiko said.

According to Kindsiko, it would be entirely reasonable to pay STEM teachers higher salaries in order to create competition.

Igor Krupenski, a member of the board of the Estonian Association of Engineers, said that to ensure a future supply of engineers it would be sensible to switch to a single mathematics track.

"If a young person chooses the easier path, meaning the narrower mathematics track, they may later not be able to enter the technical university and may not be able to study to become an engineer. So I very much hope that this system will be changed," Krupenski said.

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