The importance of STEM placements and collaboration between STEM businesses and schools alongside the role STEM businesses play in engaging not only students but also the ‘whole’ family, were all key points of a thought-provoking and animated discussion in our ‘Attracting diverse young talent into your workforce: the benefits of STEM placements’ virtual business breakfast recently.
The discussion was led by STEM Learning and included speakers from lead organisations in the construction, research and government sectors.
The panel members included:
- Dr Katy Petherick, equality, diversity and inclusion programme lead, Innovate UK, UK Research and Innovation
- Tony Ellender, emerging talent manager, Balfour Beaty
- Avinash Kant, flavour scientist, PepsiCo International, Leicester
- Holly McPhillips, Postgraduate research student, University of Kent
- Rachel Delourme, Nuffield Research Placement’s regional coordinator for the South West
A major part of the conversation was about the important role STEM businesses played in sharing their passion, skills and knowledge with students. It was clear they shared a similar goal: to inspire the next generation to follow a STEM career to increase their future talent pool; and that the key to this was to engage students in STEM subjects from a young age.
Dr Katy Petherick talked in particular about how Innovate UK believe that the best ideas can come from anyone, and a diverse workforce would ultimately lead to greater success across the STEM sector. She mentioned UKRI’s commitment to future generations entering research and innovation, particularly through co-funding 90 Nuffield Research Placements, and highlighted the positive impact the Nuffield Research Placements were having on the students themselves; enabling them to build contacts and networks and shape their future career aspirations.
Tony Ellender highlighted his drive to attract a more diverse workforce at Balfour Beaty with the focus on attracting new applicants from outside the sector. He explained how one of the key methods to do this was by offering Nuffield Research Placements that provided a unique opportunity to not only attract a STEM audience but also those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Their approach to offering ‘productive’ placements to young students brought huge benefits to the company, enabling a fresh perspective and ideas that fed into the overall success of the company. This also brought benefits of building a relationship with the student at school age who could potentially return as an employee.
Avinash Kant, talked about how STEM impacts Pepsico everyday: from STEM specialists that harvest the best ingredients to engineers that develop their packaging with sustainability as one of the many areas requiring innovation. He explained about the 13 programmes they use to deliver their objective to provide a future diverse STEM talent pool highlighting the importance of having a range of outreach programmes to ensure both primary and secondary students would be engaged. Nuffield Research Placements, alongside code clubs and curiosity club workshops, were key ways they engaged with young students, utilising their 78 STEM Ambassadors to provide real-life examples of STEM careers.
To highlight how a STEM placement had directly benefited students, Holly McPhillips explained how participating in a Nuffield Research Placement in 2014 had been a ‘life-changing’ experience. She explained how her passion for STEM had been ignited at a young age and reflected on how this passion was reinforced at the age of 17 when she undertook a placement at Heriot-Wayy University and worked alongside her mentor, a young female PhD student who inspired her to pursue a STEM career. She also talked about how this placement gave her the confidence to apply to the University of St Andrews to study Material Chemistry becoming the first in her family to attend Higher Education and the positive impact the placement had on her applications to internships and further study.
Nuffield Research Placement’s regional coordinator Rachel Delourme encouraged participants at the business event to engage with the programme to continue the important work it had achieved over the last 25 years on connecting STEM businesses to young people. She emphasised the prestige associated with a Nuffield Research Placement, the role flexibility and trust played in the success of the placement and the confidence it gave students by taking ownership of a specific project. She also emphasised the importance of STEM businesses engaging with students from primary age explaining that creating learning opportunities that develop excitement and curiosity is fundamental to inspire young students to follow a STEM pathway.
Finally, what was very clear in the discussion from all the panel members and participants was the importance of breaking down barriers in families and that involving the whole family in STEM activities played a key role in engaging and inspiring students to pursue a STEM pathway. There was a great deal of enthusiasm to inspire students from an early age, and it was acknowledged that STEM businesses were playing a vital outreach role by providing real-life examples that students could aspire to be.
If you are an employer that has been inspired by our recent business discussion and are able to provide a research or development project in the school summer holidays please contact our Nuffield Research Placement team via nrpenquiries@stem.org.uk.
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