BSRIA to celebrate 2018 Year of Engineering
Published: 12 January, 2018
BSRIA says it is delighted to be celebrating the 2018 Year of Engineering and will be running a series of events and careers days with local schools and colleges.
This national campaign is designed to increase awareness and understanding of what engineers do among young people aged seven to 16, their parents and teachers. It will have a space focus – involving British astronaut, Tim Peak, to attract youngsters to the engineering sector.
The Year of Engineering seeks to improve the desirability of engineering as a career: increasing awareness and understanding of engineering.
A significant project will see the DfE working with the Design and Technology Association to develop a series of curriculum-based resources which will use the design and technology curriculum as a “platform to motivate more young people to consider careers in engineering”.
EngineeringUK will be joining forces with government and industry to give thousands of young people inspiring experiences of engineering, as part of a year-long campaign to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
The campaign will encourage young people from all backgrounds to take a closer look at engineering, challenging stereotypes and showcasing the variety and creativity of this forward-looking and innovative sector.
have a shortfall in qualified engineering graduates, and a lack of diversity in the profession – the professional engineering workforce is 94 per cent white and 91 per cent male.
Julia Evans, BSRIA Chief Executive (pictured), commented: “Engineering, the STEM subjects and even specifically a career in construction is often undervalued and misunderstood. Getting youngsters fired up about these subjects and this exciting and rewarding career should start in schools as young as possible.
“It was astonishing to learn that only a third of parents really know what people in engineering actually do! History has shown that those who pursue a career in engineering and science arguably make the biggest impact to the world: incredible minds provide us with incredible ideas we once might have thought of as unbelievable but are now ingrained in our society.
“Indeed the BSRIA INSPIRE project, launched in 2016, is working with local schools, national and local politicians and the media to promote STEM and change its perceptions.
“INSPIRE raises the question of why are STEM subjects important? What does engineering mean for you? Why does technology matter? There is one answer to those three questions which is quite simply ‘everything’.
“I know there are some incredible activities already happening to encourage young people into the engineering sector but we should all grasp this opportunity to do more. The 2018 Year of Engineering is fantastic news and will create the necessary momentum needed.”
