Published: November 3rd, 2016
November 7 to 14 is Tomorrow’s Engineers Week – a chance for companies in the sector to shine a light on their industry and inspire more young people into the field.
Encouraging people to follow a career in engineering at a young age is key to the future viability of the sector. The national STEMNET scheme aims to get more young people taking an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
One volunteer STEMNET Ambassador is 24-year-old Nick Ralph, a trainee design engineer at Fabweld Steel Products in Telford.
Nick joined FSP at 16 after completing an engineering course in his last two years of school. He started in the finishing department carrying out general duties and final assembly before training as a welder, fabricator and laser operator.
He said he wanted to work with young people so they could realise what they could achieve by studying STEM subjects.
"FSP has given me so many opportunities to learn different skills that I would not normally have done. I want to use my experience to show young people what career options are open to them in the STEM field and how they can develop if they work hard," he said.
His colleague Dan Brown is also a STEMNET Ambassador. He joined FSP in 2013 as an apprentice and worked his way up to his current role as a design engineer.
He said: "Undertaking an apprenticeship helped me gain some fantastic experience so I am very happy to be able to share that with young people. Being a STEM Ambassador is giving me the opportunity to gain confidence and other professional skills while informing youngsters and hopefully inspiring some of them to have a future in engineering."
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If you’d like to know more about Encouraging Apprenticeships, watch our short film
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Find out more about the STEMNET scheme and how to get involved
