The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is encouraging young engineers from across the North East to put their skills to the test by representing their schools in a region-wide competition.
The organisation is asking Year 7 and 8 students, and those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) clubs, from North East schools to enter its Inspire competition.
Teams that enter the competition have to produce a two minute advert to attract people into a career in civil engineering, an industry which requires 87,000 new personnel each year to fill 2.6 million job openings from 2012 to 2022. Entries will be assessed by a panel of professional engineers, and qualifying teams will be invited to a Finals Day in April 2018, where they will work as real-life civil engineers to complete a practical construction project.
The winning team will receive £500 for their school and a £50 shopping voucher for each team member. The winners of the 2016/17 competition were a group from Staindrop School, County Durham.
Penny Marshall, Regional Director for ICE in the North East, said: “The truth is, the UK does not have enough engineers to meet demand, so we are always looking at new ways to address the skills shortage. We have to double the number of engineering apprentices and double the number of people with engineering qualifications. But proactive steps need to be taken to inspire people to want a career in industry at an early age.
“The ICE Inspire initiative is the perfect way for us to not only spot young talent, but also get insight into how young people think they should be marketed to. Because as a profession we need innovative ideas to attract engineers from all areas of society, ensuring our workforce is future proof.”
To enter, a registration form must be downloaded and completed. Completed forms should be emailed to iceneambassadors@gmail.com before the deadline of 17:00 on 15 December 2017.
More information and details of how to enter the competition can be found at https://www.ice.org.uk/near-you/uk/north-east/inspire.