Last month, the prime minister caused a stir by announcing that he wants all pupils to study maths in some form to age 18.

“In a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, letting our children out into that world without those skills is letting our children down,” he said.

There has been no shortage of critics. The Mirror called his plan “vague”, the Telegraph “stupid and insulting”, and the Guardian lamented “the cult of maths”. Everyone has an opinion. British comedy-horror actor Simon Pegg even felt moved to complain that Sunak “wants a drone army of data-entering robots”.

However, if we return to the intent behind Sunak’s idea, it begs the question of what skills would best prepare the next generation, if not maths?

Big gaps in technical skills of employees

In 2022, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conducted research on the views of company recruiters toward the UK’s skills policy. Three in four were struggling to fill vacancies, with the biggest skill gaps in technical skills (68%) such as computing languages and certified accountancy) and scientific skills (25%).

Broader ‘employability’ skills such as communication (23%), customer-facing skills (23%) and problem-solving (22%) were also lacking. Other studies have shown similar employer needs.

The good news is that, in response, employers are seeking to raise pay (46%) and upskill existing workers (40%) to get the skilled employees they need.

Therefore, with technical skills perceived as a major gap by UK employers, Sunak’s focus on maths is understandable. The fact that a country’s prosperity is known to correlate with its citizens’ maths abilities might further explain his focus, given the UK’s wage stagnation problem.

However, the sum of research suggests employers are looking for people with a basket of skills that include but transcend numeracy: the ability to apply their technical expertise to solve problems, necessitating communication skills, resilience and teamwork.

Deloitte, for instance, found that being better skilled in three critical areas – digital literacy, handling customers and personal organisation – meant higher wages.

The ability to apply results in a real setting

In conclusion, the most employable members of the next generation will not likely be those that are the best at maths per se, but those that have developed a technical skill (which might include numeracy) and the ability to apply results in a real setting.

Those demonstrating such capabilities will also have demonstrated some other attributes that employers value: the ability to self-learn, self-manage and self-motivate. In my opinion, Sunak’s idea addressed part of the challenge, but not all of it.