Engineers are encouraged to get involved in an online discussion aimed at increasing the number and diversity of young people entering the profession.
Over the next three months the Big Engineering Conversation, led by EngineeringUK, aims to involve employers, individual engineers, professional engineering institutions, and anyone connected with the sector in sharing their expertise and insights to increase its impact.
A series of “talking points” will be released to stimulate discussion, such as “What have we learnt from delivering engagement activities in a pandemic?”, “How can we improve diversity in engineering and why is it important?” and “Why is collaboration important in inspiring the next generation?” Engineers are invited to engage online and on social media with the hashtag #BigEngConversation.
The EngineeringUK team will be posting blogs and short videos to share their experience, such as the creation of a Virtual Work Experience working group comprising 12 EngineeringUK corporate members to find ways to guarantee high quality work experience opportunities during the pandemic.
EngineeringUK suggests participants could post key statistics on social media to bring the topic to life, write a blog including an example or case study, or ask a spokesperson from their organisation to reveal key insights. The Big Engineering Toolkit is available for download to help get involved.
According to EngineeringUK research, nearly 50% of 11 to 19 year-olds said they knew little or “almost nothing” about what engineers do. EngineeringUK’s ambition is to increase the number and diversity of tomorrow’s engineers, working with the engineering community so young people understand the thousands of engineering roles available in the future.
EngineeringUK chief executive Dr Hilary Leevers said: “The Big Engineering Conversation is a chance to get everyone sharing ideas and insights to build our collective knowledge. If we’re to realise the ambition of having a greater number of young people entering engineering from a wider range of backgrounds, it’s essential we work together. Engineering is a varied, stimulating and important career but we need to work harder than ever to ensure that it’s a career choice that’s accessible for the next generation of young people.”
Follow EngineeringUK on Twitter and LinkedIn to share insights, experience and questions using the #BigEngConversation or visit www.engineeringuk.com/bigengconversation for more information.
Download The Big Engineering Conversation Toolkit