Tideway is responsible for delivering London’s new £4.2bn sewerage system, the Thames Tideway Tunnel. This scheme is the biggest infrastructure investment in the UK water industry and will have huge environmental benefits for everyone who uses the river, both now and for generations to come.
We chatted to Mónica Lobo, Education Executive at Tideway, about the company’s education programme and support for STEM Ambassadors.
What is the benefit to you as an employer?
Our education programme has a generous STEM volunteering provision (up to three days a year) that allows employees to go into local schools to deliver activities ranging from talks and practical activities to mentoring. The STEM Ambassadors programme provides a straightforward way of identifying STEM activities that our staff can get involved in as well as providing them with training they require to work with young people.
By working strategically with established STEM providers like STEM Learning, Tideway is able to explore ways to further our education programme offering. As well as encouraging our staff to volunteer as STEM Ambassadors, during the 2017/18 academic year we are supporting programmes such as STEM Insight and Big Bang @ Schools (as part of Big Bang London) where young people develop their own science projects. This approach allows us not only to achieve our goals but to have a long term impact informed and supported by STEM Learning expertise.
How do your staff feel about their roles as STEM Ambassadors and how it relates specifically to their industry?
Many of our staff become STEM Ambassadors because they want to share their enthusiasm for their careers and improve perceptions of STEM industry amongst young people. They often mention how influential a role model they had was on their own career choices and want to give back and do the same for young people.
“I take part in STEM volunteering as it is something I find very rewarding and eye-opening. During STEM events I come across a lot of students who take an interest or curiosity in STEM related subjects but simply do not hear/know enough about it to be confident enough to pursue this interest. So by STEM ambassadors/volunteers spreading their own knowledge and experience of topics such as engineering this allows students to envision the opportunities STEM related subjects hold and how they can take their own skills and characteristics to help contribute towards these industries.” Bianca Wheeler, Civil Engineer Apprentice
How does your local STEM Ambassador Hub support you and vice versa?
Our local STEM Ambassador Hubs help us to build connections with schools in the community and to find contacts who are already looking for STEM activities. As an example, with one of the schools we have worked with, STEM Learning and Tomorrow’s Engineers have been very supportive in helping us with support their first ever Big Bang @ School event.
We also make sure STEM Learning receives regular updates of our STEM activity, including new free educational resources.
How important do you feel getting involved in the programme is to raise aspirations in STEM?
Inspirational role models are integral to raising aspirations in STEM. Tideway wants to widen access to under-represented groups and challenge stereotypes through our STEM Ambassador community, who represent different pathways (practical, technical and vocational) into engineering and construction.
Working closely with STEM Learning allows us to support our staff as volunteers, and to build on existing best practice to engage with young people more effectively.
How influential is the future technical and graduate talent pipeline to your organisation and recruitment aims?
Tideway is delivering a project with a specific timeframe (the tunnel will be completed by 2023) and its education programme seeks to address the massive skills gap in the engineering and construction industry beyond that timeframe. It is a legacy we want to leave to Londoners and our industry.