Every year for the last 3 years, over 500 school pupils have travelled to West College Scotland’s Clydebank campus in November to talk to employers about how they can take their first steps in a career in STEM.

STEM West is Developing the Young Workforce West Region’s flagship annual event. As you can imagine, this year we won’t be able to host it in person given the current climate. So, with that in mind, we’ve decided to put together a series of videos, each one focused on each aspect of STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths. These videos would be released on W/C 23^rd November over 4 days (Monday-Thursday).

Our aim is to make STEM West as relevant and insightful as always and to do that we need your help! We’re looking for employers to get involved with the video series we’re creating and educate young people on STEM careers by providing them with more information on how they can start their career in a STEM industry.

If your business comes under one of the STEM categories, we’d love for you to contribute by talking a bit about what your business does, what skills, qualities & qualifications a young person might need to work there, typical routes into employment (i.e. apprenticeships etc) and what types of opportunities you may currently have or will have in the future. Your segment could be made more engaging by offering to do an activity or demonstration that could be easily followed along in a classroom!

Video Specifications:

• We’re aiming for these employer segments to last 7-9 minutes
• Content does not need to be professionally shot, iPhone footage is fine as long as sound quality is good enough and it’s shot in landscape mode
• Pre-existing company footage would be excellent (could be on-site footage or interview footage for example)

In short, if you know someone in your organisation that you think would be good in front of camera, we’d love to hear what they have to say about the topics mentioned before: company bio, skills & qualities, routes into employment, qualifications, opportunity types and, if possible, an activity or demonstration.

We appreciate that many of you may still be working from home without access to company premises but if you have pre-existing content that’s relevant then you could still contribute! It would allow your business to be showcased in every school we support across our 4 Local Authority Areas and would be a great way to get your name out to all schools and highlight career options that are available.

Our main audience is S3/S4 but it can sometimes be slightly younger or older. If you have content that would be suitable for this age group then please let us know.

We would request that all video content be provided by October 31^st to allow sufficient editing time prior to video release. Those interested, please email fraser.woods@dywwest.co.uk!

Spread The Word

We’re putting together a campaign pack to help you spread the STEM word across social media. This pack will include example social media posts & graphics for each individual video!

If you want to help get the word out then please contact fraser.woods@dywwest.co.uk to get your campaign pack.

The University of Strathclyde Engineering Academy offers an alternative route into an Engineering degree. The first year is an enhanced HNC programme which is taught at one of seven partner colleges and allows for a direct transfer into a variety of degree programmes.

After your first year is completed, you may transfer into a variety of degree courses in one of the following departments:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical & Process Engineering
• Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Design, Manufacture, & Engineering Management
• Electronic & Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
• Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

You will be required to have four Highers at BBBB which must include Maths and Physics. Higher Chemistry is also required for entry to Chemical Engineering and for entry to Biomedical Engineering you will need to have Higher Biology or Human biology.

Certain applicants may be eligible for a lower offer, minimum entry requirements are BBCC.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be made via UCAS, the UCAS admissions code is oBRT, there is no need to complete a separate application for the HNC programme delivered within the college.

Michael Spiers studied Mechanical Engineering with Materials Engineering via the Engineering Academy, here’s what he had to say:

“I had not achieved what I would have hoped in my Higher Maths and Physics. This was a big blow to my aspirations of studying Mechanical Engineering and the University of Strathclyde as the BEng course stipulated that an A in these subjects was a must. The Engineering Academy presented an alternative route to the highly sought after MAE department at Strathclyde that I could pursue. On top of this, the opportunity to work in industry throughout the degree appealed to me. The Engineering Academy looked like the place to be in terms of transitioning smoothly from full-time education to a career in the sector.”

Michael is now working with GeoSea as an offshore Project Engineer based in Belgium.

For more information, see attached documents and visit https://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/studywithus/engineeringacademy/

The UK Government have introduced a new Kickstart Scheme that provides funding to employers to create new 6-month paid work placements for young people (aged 16-24) who are currently on Universal Credit.

The Kickstart Scheme aims to create new, fully funded jobs across the UK. Funding will cover:

• 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week (giving employers the option to top up these payments)
• The associated employer National Insurance contributions
• Employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

There will be extra funding to help young people move into sustained employment after they’ve completed their 6-month placement under the Scheme.

The Kickstart scheme was announced in July as part of the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs, a package to support youth unemployment, which includes tripling the number of traineeships, incentivising employers to hire more apprentices through a £2,000 payment to employers for every apprentice they hire under the age of 25 and investing in our National Careers Service so people can receive bespoke advice on training and work.

Kickstart Scheme: https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/kickstart/

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir8OkmPy9YA&feature=youtu.be

Learn: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme

Apply: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-grant-through-the-kickstart-scheme

Giving every young person the chance to succeed.

The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fiona Hyslop MSP, has announced further details on how the Youth Guarantee will give young people the chance to succeed despite the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).  Today’s announcement has confirmed additional investment for Developing the Young Workforce Regional Groups to support the delivery of the Youth Guarantee including strengthening our offer in the senior phase and ensuring those furthest from the labour market can access the appropriate support.

The Scottish Government’s £60 million support for the guarantee, will ensure every young person has the opportunity of work, education or training, with £10 million additional funding for DYW.

An implementation plan written by Sandy Begbie has been published today. The report’s recommendations include:

• a simplification of the employability landscape so that greater impact can be achieved. This work to be co-designed with young people
• a better alignment of education provision with the needs of employers
• work to introduce an incentive model where government pays 50% of wages for young people who need the most help
• early work to identify opportunities with employers in some least-impacted sectors, including financial services, utilities and life sciences
• a call for the public sector to create more opportunities for young people
• businesses who would not normally have taken an apprentice full-time come to consider sharing an apprentice with other employers.

Rob Woodward, Chair of the Employers’ Forum said: “Today’s announcement gives strong endorsement for the future of DYW and highlights that Scottish Ministers are listening to employers and recognise the valuable insights from across the DYW network. As a network, we will respond to this challenge to ensure that young people have the best possible support and preparation for entering the labour market”.

“We will work closely with our partners including local authorities, employers and SDS to ensure that this additional investment has the maximum impact. I encourage all employers to support our young people at this difficult time by supporting their local DYW Regional Group”

The report can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/978180004037

The annual #NoWrongPath campaign grows from strength to strength every year. We were delighted to collaborate with big names such as NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Doosan Babcock, NMIS and more! We're determined to bring inspiring stories from industry professionals every year on the week of exam results. These individuals are a testament to the fact that your exam results aren't the defining factor in your future career. While it would be preferable to get the results you're looking for, you can still achieve your career goals no matter the circumstance. Visit https://www.nowrongpath.scot/ for more information.

Don't just take our word for it, hear from them yourselves:

Andrew Bowman | DYW West Chair

Andrew Bowman took an unconventional path to success. Listen to him talk about his experiences running his own business, dipping in and out of university and more!

Andrew Colquhoun | Doosan Babcock CEO

Andrew Colquhoun worked his way up from apprentice to CEO of a global company and won the ROCCO's Business Leader of the Year Award in 2019. Listen to the story of how he rose to the top at Doosan Babcock.

Mandy Holley | NHS Health Visitor

Mandy is a Health Visitor with the NHS and her story is of a path less travelled, but she managed to find success and was able to use her life experiences to get to where she is today.

Philip Briscoe | European Circuits Ltd Sales Manager

Philip's sales journey started 25 years ago, but it wasn't what he expected to be doing in his career. Find out how he arrived at his current role at European Circuits.

Stewart McKinlay | NMIS Associate Director

Stewart's dreams of becoming a pilot were dashed when he found out he was short-sighted. Find out how he faired at university and his journey towards becoming the Associate Director at NMIS (National Manufacturing Institution Scotland).

We'd like to extend our thanks to everyone who contributed this year, DYW as a whole are extremely grateful for the number of people who got involved. Until next year!

Scotland's Biggest Parents' EVENTS is back!

Given the current circumstances, SBPE has been modified to be more applicable and accessible. This year it's comprised of 4 events: Pathways to Industry, Vocational Pathways, #NoWrongPath to Industry & Pathways to Priority Industries with event 1 taking place on Tuesday, 7th July @ 7pm! 

These events will provide parents and carers with information about options and pathways for young people, including where they can go to make informed judgements to support their young person's next steps.

Registration for Event 1: Pathways to Industry is open, visit https://www.dyw.scot/sbpe for more details!

Developing the Young Workforce have made a commitment to young people by delivering the DYW Skills Academy: a 5-week programme providing a series of virtual activities and employability experiences for 2020 Summer Leavers.

Week 1 begins W/C 13th July and each week is centred around a different aspect of employability like Industry Insights, e-Learning, Applying for Jobs and more!

The ‘Get Industry Ready’ sessions give you the insight, skills and knowledge you need to build your industry readiness. You will learn at your own pace with weekly video content delivered by industry experts alongside bite-sized e-learning and to top off the experience, if you are actively applying for jobs or apprenticeships there are additional experiences just for you.

So if you're a school leaver and looking for a job or apprenticeship, learn more and register by visiting https://www.dyw.scot/skills-academy.

On the week of the 1st of June, Developing the Young Workforce launched the #DYWKeyWorkers campaign. This gave DYW West the opportunity to collaborate with local employers and highlight the essential roles that are keeping Scotland's economy going and those on the frontline, combatting the Coronavirus.

We reached out to employers in a variety of industries and received some excellent submissions from the individuals in key roles.

Monday, June 1st:

We kicked the week off with Philip Briscoe, the Sales Manager at European Circuits. Philip highlighted how their products are being supplied directly to NHS frontline staff and how they're being used in the fight against the Coronavirus.

Tuesday, June 2nd:

We then spoke to Erin, a Specialist Biomedical Scientist with NHS GGC. She told us about the recent media attention her field has attracted, and what it's like to live and work in the West region.

Wednesday, June 3rd:

As this was also #VolunteersWeekScot, we were delighted to be able to showcase the volunteer work that's being done in Scotland. Alice McBride is the Volunteer Development Officer for Engage Renfrewshire, here she talks about the role volunteering plays in these times.

We also spoke to Fiona, a Primary School Teacher at St. Anne's Primary in Erskine, who told us about the passion she has for her pupils, their families and the local community.

Thursday, June 4th:

Jim is the Commercial Director at Binn Group, Scotland’s leading recycling and resource management company. They provide a vital service keeping bins empty and waste processed.

On Thursday we also spoke to Adam, a Care Worker with Kerr Home Care Ltd in Johnstone. He told us about how proud he is to be caring for other people during this time and more!

Friday, June 5th:

We started off the final day of the campaign with Margaret, a Practice Nurse of over 20 years with the NHS, who talked us through the skills needed for her field and much more.

To round off the week, we spoke to Natalie. Natalie is the daughter of Margaret and a Call Handler with NHS24, showing that the NHS is a calling for different generations of the family.

We'd like to extend our thanks to the organisations who were keen to work with us and everyone who contributed videos and case studies for the #DYWKeyWorkers campaign, keep up the good work!

Enginuity believes that one engineer can change their world … and ours, given the chance. However, the next generation doesn’t seem to be giving engineering the chance, that’s why Enginuity is looking somewhere new for budding engineers.

Introducing Skills Miner, a set of 5 custom levels created by Enginuity in Minecraft designed to unlock players' engineering potential. Play Skills Miner today and see where your skills could take your career!

Go to www.skills-miner.com for more information and watch the launch video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpe_19jWuIc&feature=youtu.be!

Once again, DYW West celebrated the 8^th of March the way we always do… By making a week out of it!

We took groups of young women on tours of some of Scotland’s most high profile STEM employers so they could see the inner workings of huge organisations like NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (Inverclyde Royal, NHS Golden Jubilee & Royal Alexandria Hospital), British Airways, Rolls-Royce and Keir Construction!

We’re all about encouraging young women to pursue careers in STEM-related industries and areas that are seen as “male-dominated”, hopefully inspiring them to pick the relevant subjects at school to start them off in a STEM career.

Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 meant that the tour with DXC in Erskine had to be postponed to a later date which will be confirmed when we return to some normality.

Thank you to the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Royal Alexandria Hospital, British Airways, Rolls-Royce, DXC, Keir Construction and NHS Golden Jubilee for agreeing to offer the tours as well as the pupils from Castlehead HS, Gleniffer HS, Johnstone HS, Trinity HS, Linwood HS, Mary Russell, Paisley Grammar, Clydeview Academy, Inverclyde Academy, St. Columba’s HS, Clydebank HS, St. Peter The Apostle HS, St. Luke’s HS, Woodfarm HS and Eastwood HS!

Hear from Robyn about the tour at the Royal Alexandria Hospital:

Robyn Allan, 14, Gleniffer HS

“Today we visited a number of areas from labs to engineers and it was a great opportunity to see all the areas that the NHS offer. It was great to hear about the MA opportunities on offer in these areas and beyond within the NHS and meet new people”