Supporting STEM

Right now, the UK is facing a skills shortage in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).  In addition, too few people are studying STEM subjects at school, college and university. To make sure we have the calibre of engineers and scientists we’ll need in the future, we need to inspire more young people to study STEM subjects today.

We’re involved in a range of initiatives that get children excited about STEM subjects – including our power station visits and our enthuse programme. Through these, we show young people our ‘world of work’. We also give teachers support to help them deliver lessons that relate to the STEM ‘world of work’.

enthuse

Our enthuse programme brings the ‘world of work’ to life for 13-14 year olds, and challenges them to use and develop their skills as if they were a scientist or engineer with the aim of creating a positive change in perception of STEM. It involves us working with schools near our power stations and engineering sites to get students to take part in a day of fun science and engineering themed activities. In 2010, 2,100 13-14 year olds participated in our enthuse events.

Power station visits

Our power station visits give students a chance to see inside a working power station. Over 13,500 students from schools, colleges and universities took a tour of our power stations in 2009. We have also worked with teachers from primary and secondary schools and colleges to map our power station visits to the Science, Maths, Geography and Engineering Diploma curricula.

Engineering Diploma

We continue to be actively involved in the Engineering Diploma for 14-19 year olds, at a local and national level. We have also developed case studies for the new 'Mathematics for Engineering' unit as part of the Advanced Diploma.