To encourage students to pursue a career in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), 19 apprentices from global engineering technologies company Renishaw, led tours of school students around MACH 2022, the UK’s national manufacturing and engineering exhibition.

At the event, held in April at the NEC, Birmingham, students had the opportunity to see the innovative developments in disciplines such as additive manufacturing, machining and metrology, and learn about pathways into different manufacturing sectors, such as automotive, aerospace and medical.

During the week, MACH hosted 2,500 secondary school students aged 11 to 16. The guided tours, led by apprentices and graduates working in the the industry, included visits to the stands of leading manufacturing companies, as well as participating in activities in the exhibition’s dedicated Education and Development zone. These included additive manufacturing (AM) activities led by Create Education, virtual welding, seeing the Mars Rover and discovering more about the F1 in Schools competition.

Joshua Dugdale, head of technology and skills at the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the organiser of MACH, said: “Apprentices and graduate engineers are the ideal candidates to lead the tours because they are only a few years ahead of the students, and can strongly relate to them.”

Izabel Maciver, a manufacturing apprentice at Renishaw, said: “The tour guides gave a first-hand insight into the career opportunities available to students. I have a passion for engineering and robotics, so thought it would be interesting to not only see industry robots in action, but also try to help convey how exciting engineering can be to the next generation of engineers. It was great to see the students get involved in activities like the ‘pit stop challenge’ and hear about some of the projects that they were doing in school.”

Charlie Hix, an engineering apprentice at Renishaw, added: “I wanted to take part in the tours and speak to students about engineering careers as I have previously been one of those students, and was inspired into my role by a similar conversation. I saw this as a great opportunity to give students an insight into the industry and apprenticeships as a whole.”

Harry Elliott, a technical apprentice at Renishaw, said: “It was also great to see so many girls on the tours that were interested in and enthusiastic about engineering, In particular, the school groups showed a lot of interest in AM processes. The Education and Development zone was positioned alongside school and university stands, which inspired children to study engineering at university and get involved in innovative and exciting projects through their education.”

Renishaw offers an extensive education outreach programme to support primary and secondary schools across Bristol, Gloucestershire and South Wales. It also has well established early careers programmes and this year has recruited a record 80 apprentices and 96 graduates in the UK to support long-term business growth.

For further information on Renishaw’s education outreach programme, visit the website (www.renishaw.com/en/education-outreach--34713).