Tomorrow’s Engineers (TE) Week provides young people with examples of some of the amazing things engineers work on, including the diversity of jobs available in the industry.

MWH Activities in the UK

MWH UK have taken part in a number of school engagement projects throughout the year including 22 school visits, involving 650 pupils of various ages (310 Girls, 340 Boys). The visits aim to provide children with an understanding of a number of engineering principles, through presentations and projects.

The MWH UK Warrington Office community engagement group recently completed a five week school engagement programme at St Andrews Primary School in Warrington with a year six class (aged 10-11).

The programme, which was tailored specifically for the school, was split into a variety engineering disciplines over the five week period and included presentations, hands on practical activities and documented learning.

Week one provided a general introduction into engineering and the following weeks covered a variety of sessions including geotechnical, process and structural engineering, digital drawing and surveying.

Cathy Foster, Deputy Head of St Andrews primary school said, “the children have really enjoyed it and the staff are too curious about engineering as possible career alternatives. Several of the children now want to be engineers – especially ‘building stuff’. They have gained valuable insights into career paths that most of them didn’t even know existed. You have also opened the girl’s eyes to careers outside the normal perceived ideas.”

Tomorrow’s Engineers, supported by EngineeringUK, the Royal Academy of Engineering and many other organisations, aims improve the transition from school to a career in engineering. The programme works with a diverse range of companies in order to provide a range of educational material for young people.

All of the initiatives aim to encourage schools to incorporate engineering into curriculum routines, engaging young minds to help support them with future career decisions. This is incredibly important for the UK engineering sector.

Current Initiatives Focus On:

• Industry visits Workshops
• Science
• Technology
• Engineering and Math’s (STEM) Ambassador partnerships
• Careers Resources

Rachel Meadwell, MWH Civil Engineer who led the school engagement programme said, “The programme has been a huge success and I’d like to thank the group members for all their hard work, support and enthusiasm. The pupils particularly enjoyed the practical elements of the sessions. I am very passionate about promoting engineering as a career in schools because if it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t have known what engineering was.”

Where Will We Find our Future Engineers?

Liz Chapman, Head of Engineering at MWH in the UK recently shared her thoughts with Engineering Magazine and explains why she believes it is our responsibility to resolve the UK’s skills shortage by attracting a diverse range of young people with creative flair and a thirst for problem solving to mold into the next generation of engineers.

Read the full article, “Where will we find our future engineers and will we recognise them?” published by Engineering Magazine June addition.

Additional Contact Information

If you want to learn more about MWH activities with EngineeringUK, or other Schools Engagement, please contact Alison Bradley (Head of Quality and Environment at MWH UK): Alison.T.Bradley@mwhglobal.com

Follow MWH for #TEWeek16 updates!

Take a look at @Tomorrows_Eng to see some of the things engineers are getting up to!