• • • NEWS • • •
Susan’s legacy set to inspire more than 2000 pupils to consider a career in STEM
Nearly 2000 pupils will have the opportunity to get a better taste of vocational learning thanks to the expansion of the STEM Engagement Fund in the Black Country and Birmingham
he new financial backing is the brainchild of Michael Orlik and his sons Anthony and Phillip, who have gifted £25,000 to the Training Manufacturing Group (TMG)’s charitable fund in memory of their wife and mum Susan, a passionate advocate of giving young people the best start in education and employment. It means that In-Comm Training, a leading independent provider of apprenticeships and training, can increase the reach of its programme. This has seen the company enlist five additional schools to take part in an intensive mix of STEM workshops, apprenticeship taster days, pre- apprenticeship courses, the nationally recognised F1 in Schools programme launch days and company visits connected to its Aldridge facility. This includes Bristnall Hall Academy, Joseph Leckie Academy, Lyndon School, Wood Green Academy and Blue Coat Church of England Academy. Encouragingly, there is enough money in the fund to invite a further ten schools to be involved in one of two special STEM workshops. “My wife Susan had a fantastic career in education and always shared a desire to give young people, who have often faced challenges early in their lives, a chance to have the best possible career they could,” explained Michael.
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“This is what inspired my sons and I to explore the possibility of backing the STEM Engagement Fund in her memory, after she sadly passed away from cancer in 2022. The world can be a difficult place for 14 to 16-year-olds in the Black Country and Birmingham, and if we can make a positive difference, in some small way, then that would be the best possible legacy for Susan.”
He continued: “We wanted to focus on apprenticeships and, in particular, engineering and manufacturing. The region used to be such a global force of industry and, if we are going to compete internationally again, we need young talent coming through, yet many school pupils never consider a career in this field. “The larger STEM Engagement Fund will hopefully change that. We’ll give them a taste of what skills you need, what the career path looks like and then there will be more in-depth practical days and the chance to talk to current apprenticeships…’warts and all’. The idea is that we get at least 30 more apprentices signed up every year.”
Each of the core five schools will experience £4000 worth of support, starting with either a F1 in Schools programme or a full STEM workshop involving a minimum of 120 pupils.
The latter will explore pathways into industry and tackle a mechanical engineering challenge that will see them come up with a device to transport product from A to B. This is very much an overarching introduction to apprenticeships and will be followed up by two Apprenticeship Taster Days, where 15 pupils on each day will be invited into In-Comm Training’s Technical Academy for a chance to see over £3 million worth of the latest manufacturing technology that they could be working on, and to take part in a more in-depth task involving mechatronics and fluid power.
The final element of the STEM Engagement
Fund is the pre-apprenticeship days for young people seriously considering the vocational route. Ben Edge, Assistant Principal at Joseph Leckie Academy, added his support: “We were delighted to be involved in the STEM Engagement Fund, and are excited about the range of activities that are on offer in this project. “Our Year 8 students experienced an F1 in Schools Day, where they designed and built their own F1 car, our Year 10 pupils will take part in a STEM workshop and our Year 12 and 13 students will take an in-depth look into the world of engineering apprenticeships available to them once they finish their studies. Michael concluded: “There is a real sense of excitement about what we can achieve, and we would love to maybe extend our backing of the fund for another year if we have enough engagement and more schools looking to take part going forward.” For further information, please visit
www.in-comm.co.uk or email recruitment@
in-comm.co.uk.
electricalengieneeringmagazine.co.uk ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • FEBRUARY 2025 5
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