FUTURE WORKFORCE AND STEM


careers. The questions about how much they had enjoyed each workshop, and whether it had made them think more about an engineering career, were put in a very straightforward manner, to elicit a simple ‘gut response’. We were pleased with the level of engagement, the positive feedback from the participants, and the high percentages of students who said they were either already thinking about, or would now consider, a STEM career. It was also a great opportunity to give the broad spectrum of 11-16-year-olds involved a much clearer idea about what is entailed in a number of, in some cases, quite specialist engineering roles.” I wondered whether, in quite a number of cases, a complete lack of knowledge of the very wide range of engineering roles that exist today was evident. Monira Kaouech responded: “Many of those whose parents had perhaps been engineers, were keen to follow in their footsteps, but in other cases, students had never heard of some of the jobs their personality tests pointed them towards, and, encouragingly, said they were now going to go away and read up on them.” She added that the professional roles on the various lists linked to the questionnaire were extremely wide- ranging, with no ‘pigeon-holing’ towards particular areas.


Questions about apprenticeship entry routes


“Because I had apprentices from the Northern & Yorkshire NHS Assessment Centre and also Alan Spraggon with me, speaking from his background,” Monira Kaouech explained, “we had a lot of students asking about apprenticeships, and the entry routes. Generally, I don’t think the availability of such


apprenticeships is very widely advertised. We had two of the Regional Managers from the Assessment Centre, Carole Winter, and Penny Metcalfe, there, plus Alan, so the students went away armed with significantly more knowledge of healthcare engineering than they had started with. Alan also mentioned that the NHS is one of the UK’s largest employers, meaning that there are a lot of jobs available.”


Monira Kaouech explained that Eileen Bayles had provided considerable help, ‘in the background’, in securing some role models for her, along with her colleagues, Penny and Carole. “One of the major aims of this programme is to reach out to our branches, and involve IHEEM members across the country,” Monira Kaouech explained. “The goal is to be able to repeat the exercise across as many Institute branches as possible over time. We are currently developing links for a workshop for a whole Year 9 group at a school in Warminster in Wiltshire. Being able to reach the best contacts in each


Sarah Kellerman helping students with the quiz at Saltburn Learning Campus.


school or college can be a challenge. Some schools have Careers Officers, and they are generally my first port of call. I initially make the approach by email or letter, and then follow up by phone. Many schools are keen to host you, but it can often be a question of fitting you into their timetable. The workshops we did in the Tees Valley in late January were often done in a science class, and in some cases, the Careers person picked out students they particularly felt would benefit – such as those who are studying ‘triple A’ science for GSCE. All the schools we went to were mixed, although a workshop I previously undertook in Birmingham was at an all-girls school.”


Gender differences in knowledge? I wondered whether she had perceived less knowledge of engineering among girls than boys. She said: “It’s quite hard to tell, but if anything, I think the pupils at the ‘all-girls school’ enjoyed being able to describe and interpret their traits more, and were perhaps a bit more open- minded about the exercise. We also found many students were still uncertain about a career direction or path, which we made clear was absolutely fine. Every class was different, which made it a very interesting week. It just showed what you can achieve collaboratively working with other stakeholders. Had it not been for


that one email to IHEEM Head Office, and the follow-up call, none of this would have happened. We were all very pleased with how it went, and I would like to thank all those involved – the planning team, the role models, the IHEEM personnel, the schools and colleges, and, of course, the students, whose input and enthusiasm made the whole exercise really worthwhile.”


Acknowledgement


IHEEM and Engineering Together would also like to thank the following ‘collaborative partners’ for their support and participation: The Institution of Civil Engineers North East; the Women’s Engineering Society; the RSA Fellowship; the Apprenticeships Ambassador Network; Venator; Spark; Inspiron; Sirius Minerals PLC, Atkins; Faithful+Gould; choice, and Sir Robert McAlpine. They would also like to express their appreciation to the ‘role models’ involved, among them IHEEM Apprentice Members Cameron Patterson (an NHS Medical Engineering Apprentice), Britney Jarvis (an NHS Engineering Apprentice), Katherine Jones (an NHS Biomedical Engineering Apprentice,) Jack Forster and Rory Cosgrove (both NHS Multicraft Mechanical Apprentices), and Sam Criddle (an NHS Multicraft Electrical Apprentice). Special thanks also to IHEEM North-East Branch member, Alan Spraggon CEng.


hej


The very encouraging overall results from the short evaluation forms handed out to all students seen by the STEM ‘People Like Me’ team during the week in late January.


May 2020 Health Estate Journal 43


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