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Female apprentices and employees from Scottish Water inspired young people into careers in STEM subjects


Case study: Supporting the education sector


Edrington, the spirits group, has taken a formal approach to supporting the education sector in Scotland by establishing a team of ambassadors to build interest, recruit volunteers and regulate time spent on supporting the sector. The drinks company has


become a lead business partner to Drumchapel High School under the Glasgow Schools and


eveloping the Young Workforce Glasgow


Laing O’Rourke led a group of young people in a classroom exercise regarding the maths involved in digging foundations


Under Work Inspiration, pupils can see


the practical applications of what they are learning. “If you have students who are learning about Pythagoras Teorem saying: ‘When am I ever going to be able to use this?’ then a construction firm comes into the school and says this is exactly how and when you are going to use this.” For example, Laing O’Rourke, the


ntial element. It is about rstanding into schools”


t certain career choices aſter they d their exam subjects. lier we can get in and the more we the beter for the young person.”


ays that if a young person can gain ngful employer engagements, then a massive difference to their career ir further education and their


yle. mebody has to encourage and s so that the employers do make


construction firm and Glasgow Chamber member, led a group of young people in a classroom exercise regarding the maths involved in digging holes for a building’s foundations. Te digger is linked to a satellite which tells the driver where and how far to dig, and it is maths that is involved in taking the earth out of the ground and how it should be stored.


Te importance of showing the relevance of


STEM subjects cannot be over-estimated, particularly in growth sectors of the economy, and also redressing the gender balance by encouraging more young women to take up jobs in science, maths and construction. Te SmartSTEMS project engaged 45 schools, 70 teachers and leaders, 45 companies and 28 workshops. Meanwhile, Venturefest, a two-day workshop, organised by Young Scot and Glasgow City of Science, is engaging young people to look at the green economy and developing entrepreneurial start-ups. In all, it’s been a worthwhile and hectic opening year for DYW in Glasgow.


Business Partnership programme established by Developing the Young Workforce Glasgow and Glasgow City Council. Staff from Edrington, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and teachers held an in-service day to launch the partnership and find way to work together. This was followed by tours of Edrington’s bottling plant and headquarters to give


teachers an understanding of the company’s business activities and how those could potentially be relevant to the school and its pupils. Ideas that emerged include working with teaching staff on their continuing professional development (CPD) with Edrington feeding into the curriculum, as well as identifying business volunteers to support mentoring.


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