Give next generation of engineers the opportunities they deserve, says Make UK

By Nicky Godding

3 March 2021

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Make UK, the manufacturers organisation, is using this year’s World Engineering Day (March 4th) to call on employers in the Midlands to offer the next generation of engineers the opportunity to shape both their careers and the future of ‘Engineering for A Healthy Planet’ - the theme for 2021.

Many engineering and manufacturing companies may be thinking about delaying or cancelling their apprenticeship programs in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, but Stephen Mitchell, Director of Apprentices and Technical Training at Make UK’s Technology Hub in Aston, Birmingham, said companies must look at the long-term picture.

“We understand that these are testing times, but employers still need to look to the future - and apprentices play a key role in this,” he said.

“Make UK has over 2,000 young people in its talent pool looking for apprenticeship opportunities, including a considerable number of young women. We have world-class facilities here in Aston, and our streamlined recruitment process means employers can access applications and candidates with minimal fuss and delay.

“Even if employers are not in a position to take on apprentices immediately, we would encourage them to start the conversations now.”

For more information on apprenticeships with Make UK, call 0808 168 5874 or email [email protected]

The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development was proclaimed by UNESCO at its 40th General Conference in 2019. It is celebrated worldwide on 4th March of each year. The day offers an opportunity to highlight engineers and engineering’s achievements and improve public understanding of how engineering and technology are central to modern life and for sustainable development.

The World Engineering Day 2021 (WED2021), with the theme “Engineering for A Healthy Planet- Celebrating the UNESCO Engineering Report”, will focus on celebrating the launch of the 2nd UNESCO Engineering Report “Engineering for Sustainable Development: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Ten years after the publication of the 1st UNESCO Engineering Report, “Engineering: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Development”, the new report highlights the crucial role of engineering in delivering the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, shows how inclusive and gender equitable engineering profession can bring about new perspectives and thus respond to the shortage of engineers, showcases of engineering innovations for implementation of the SDGs, analyses the progresses in and challenges in engineering education and capacity building, and summarizes the regional trends of engineering development. Finally, it gives recommendations for developing engineering for the SDGs, and calls for global cooperation with multiple stakeholders to promote development of engineering for the SDGs.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.