Coalville-based Winbro Group Technologies has joined forces with the Cedars Academy in Birstall to raise awareness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career opportunities in the manufacturing industry (
www.winbrogroup.com).
The partnership will see 15 Year 9 Triple Science pupils from the academy become ‘STEM Stars’, who will represent the school and take part in competitions and interview workshops.
They will also visit leading engineering businesses such as Winbro and Caterpillar, and they will gain exposure to further education opportunities at Rolls Royce’s Apprenticeship Learning and Development Centre and Loughborough University’s automotive and aerospace engineering degree programmes.
The initiative has been driven by Andy Lawson, Winbro’s chief operating officer, who said: “I have developed a real partnership with Cedars Academy, I aim to use my business experience and contacts to support them in developing better connectivity with industry.
I am particularly passionate about STEM, as Winbro relies on recruiting young talent, and the sector is projected to need 182,000 people with engineering skills each year up to 2022.”
Rebecca Knaggs, assistant principal at Cedars, said: “The ‘STEM Stars’ programme is something we are very excited about, and it will really help raise aspirations at our school.
“It is essential that our students have real exposure to industry, as we know this really inspires them and helps them to make those critical career choices.”
The ‘STEM Stars’ programme will run until March 2018, when students will receive a Crest Award; this can be used to enhance their apprenticeship or university applications.