Cornish engineering ambassadors, career professionals and engineers from across Cornwall are this week teaming up with government and hundreds of industry partners to launch the Year of Engineering –a national campaign to inspire the next generation of engineers and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
Throughout 2018, young people and their parents will have the chance to take a closer look at engineering, with thousands of inspiring experiences of engineering on offer throughout the country. Through bringing young people face-to-face with engineering role models and achievements, the campaign will showcase the creativity, variety and innovation of the profession. It will also highlight the opportunities and benefits of engineering careers for all young people – regardless of their gender, ethnicity or social background.
Cornwall Education Business Partnership will be supporting the campaign by working closely with key partners, including CSW Group, the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and Cornwall Manufacturers Group to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) experiences to young people across Cornwall.
“According to Engineering UK, 265,000 skilled entrants are needed annually to meet demand for engineering enterprises until 2024,” says Rachel Delourme, STEM Advisor from Cornwall EBP. “From spaceships to ice skates, the bubbles in chocolate bars to lifesaving cancer treatment, engineering touches every part of our lives. Working in engineering is exciting, rewarding and creative. We need the next generation of Cornish innovators and problem solvers to join the industry and help shape the future of the world we live in.
“From January we’ll be working with CSW Group and the CEC to deliver STEM Discovery days and STEM clubs to year 7 students from 10 secondary schools in Cornwall.
“Students will be working in teams to design and make a fully operation wind turbines, electric cars and develop the kind of UK energy plan they would like to see in 2028. The challenges will be led by Shawn Brown from the popular YouTube channel Kids Invent Stuff. The aim of the days is to inspire young people to consider taking STEM subjects at GCSE and A Level and show what a career in engineering could offer. This is just one of many opportunities we’re organising.”
Paul Hobson, CEO, CSW Group says: “CSW Group is delighted to have secured funding from the Careers and Enterprise Company for schools in Cornwall to benefit from the Discovery Club programme. Working with Cornwall EBP on this project complements a number of our existing STEM focussed programmes, such as the STEM Ambassador Hub for Devon and Cornwall and the Big Bang programme, combined they all support the Year of Engineering and drive young people’s interest in STEM subjects and careers”.
Local STEM industry specialists, such as Cornwall Manufacturers Group, are also supporting the project by getting actively involved in the practical challenges to help support and inspire the young people, as well as providing financial support for specialist equipment needed.
During the Year of Engineering launch week, it’s not just students and teachers being inspired, but parents are also being encouraged to find out more about how they can get involved by visiting the Year of Engineering website, which includes details of engineering activities and events taking place throughout 2018.
Sally Hawken, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Wellbeing, said “The Year of Engineering campaign is a great opportunity for children and their families to get involved and to learn more about the exciting careers available to them in the world of engineering.
“Cornwall has a rich engineering heritage: it was incredibly important to our past but now it’s even more important to inspire young people in Cornwall to consider it for their futures. This is a focus within the Education Strategy for Cornwall but also a key focus within the Cornwall economic plan, which looks at advancing the agri-tech, aerospace, marine-tech and renewable energy industry sectors. That’s why events and projects like the STEM Discovery Days and STEM Clubs are so important.
“According to the EngineeringUK 2017 report, only 20% of applicants to engineering courses in the UK were female and only 7% of engineering apprenticeships achieved were by women; as such, we particularly want to encourage girls to think about STEM and engineering as a rewarding prospect in Cornwall. It’s going to be an exciting year of engineering!”
For more information on STEM Discovery Days, STEM Clubs or other STEM events being organised in Cornwall throughout 2018 in support of Year of Engineering, please contact Rachel Delourme STEM Advisor of Cornwall EBP, Cornwall Council rdelourme@cornwall.gov.uk
To find out more about the Year of Engineering, visit www.yearofengineering.gov.uk or follow the campaign on Twitter #YOE #inspireanengineer #takeacloserlook