Forth Valley College is delighted to announce an exciting project funded by Skills Development Scotland in partnership with West College Scotland and Equate Scotland to develop awareness, access and participation for young females to become involved in STEM activities and pathways.
The announcement coincides with International Women in Engineering Day 2021 (23 June).
By developing sustainable Apprenticeship Pathways the project aims to recruit, prepare and progress nearly 40 females aged 16-24 into STEM careers, including into Engineering Modern Apprenticeships.
A specific focus of this project will be to support school clusters and address potential system or cultural barriers to female pupils choosing STEM subjects, through the development and delivery of specific and related employer-led projects.
Working alongside employers such as Howdens, Scotrail and Diodes, the partnership will be looking to understand and challenge stereotypes and develop the early years parts of this pipeline, to impact upon attitudinal and cultural change. To create inclusive workplaces, they will be supporting female apprentices to build their peer support network with access to role models at the very start of their career- encouraging the apprentices to think about the challenges and opportunities, developing their confidence and the skills to succeed.
William Forrest, Operations Manager for Engineering, Forth Valley College, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this exciting initiative in order to encourage more females to consider a career in engineering. Our world needs engineers to innovate and make changes which improve our lives and reduce our harm to the planet. This partnership will raise awareness of the wide range of opportunities out there and encourage more females to be a part of the fourth industrial revolution.”
Paul Fagan, Head of Employability, West College Scotland said: “Our Partnership recognises that there is an acute gender imbalance in the Scottish manufacturing sector and engineering workforce. Whilst the gender imbalance is extreme, there are significant opportunities within manufacturing and engineering trades, with the latest Regional Skills Assessment forecasting demand for 5,700 jobs in the west region by 2027. Our project can empower women to access and develop in these valuable jobs, through the development of robust skills pipelines. For our College and our partners, this positive action reflects a commitment to putting equality and diversity at the core of our delivery.”
Laura Smith-Gulliver, Training and Development Manager, Equate Scotland said: “The jobs of the future will rely on STEM skills, driven by an innovative and diverse workforce - vital to navigating a post-COVID world, climate change and other global challenges. Improvements in workplace equality are being made - but still persists in the attitudes, actions and processes of employers and society including how girls are encouraged to view their future workplaces and how women in STEM are supported and empowered when they get there. With STEM industries still dominated by men, women can face a challenging working environment - building networks, have fewer role models, and less peer support.”
Ian Bruce, National Training Programme Equality Manager, Skills Development Scotland, said: “Inspiring and supporting young women into STEM careers is vital to address gender imbalance and secure our future economy.
“The Women into STEM project aims to develop local solutions to support more young women into engineering by understanding the pathways, challenges and barriers women face in addition to recruiting and supporting women aged 16-24 into STEM careers including Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships.
“By working closely with partners, education, industry and employers, the project will develop sustainable local career pipelines to benefit young women in Renfrewshire now and in the future.”
To find out more about apprenticeships at Forth Valley College, click here.