Employability Schemes for Young People in STEM
Enabling staff to deliver an enriching experience through research culture development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i3.1552Keywords:
employability scheme, good practice, research culture, team creation, work experienceAbstract
The researchers were awarded an Enhanced Research Culture Fund to improve the Research Culture within WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick). The aim was to encourage diversity and inclusion, enable career development and provide open access resources and research to facilitate collaboration, through the creation and development of a new Work Experience strategy. The project was committed to reaffirming young people's interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), and hopefully inspiring them to pursue a career in the field. To begin such a programme, the researchers conducted a literature review, to highlight the importance of employability interventions that can provide young people with aspirations and role models. Conclusions of the study found that young people are prone to losing their STEM interest before they reach the age of fifteen due to negative perceptions of STEM as well as a lack of access to information, advice and guidance. Using the gaps in the research culture, the project aimed to establish and train a work experience team, with an emphasis on early-stage career staff; develop a strategy document with clear guidelines for hosting employability programmes; implement said programme. The strategy document identified three core Work experience models; Guided, Blended and Independent. The fund empowered a team of early career academics and professional staff to develop and deliver such a programme. The guide allows for better resource management and student timetabling, to enhance the overall experience.
Funding Acknowledgement
The project ‘Addressing social mobility issues in STEM’ was funded by the Enhancing Research Culture Fund through Research England.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Craig Carnegie, Naomi Ogunkola
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