A Taste for Engineering

We’re hugely excited for Monday’s ‘Engineering Taster Day’ to be held at Colchester Institute’s amazing new STEM Innovation Centre on their Braintree campus. 150 students from Braintree and Colchester schools are going to be joining us for a day of workshops, an employer marketplace and information about Colchester Institute’s offer to local people.

For Colchester Institute the day is a fantastic opportunity to meet local students that may well one day take up STEM-related qualifications and Apprenticeships with them. For our employers, it’s the chance to meet their prospective workforce, and for the Essex Employment and Skills Board, we’re able to pass on some of the local headlines – from our Skills Evidence Base that’s recently been refreshed – about the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing sector in Essex, and to dispel some of the myths about working in it.

Colchester Institute staff have done a fantastic job in terms of organising the event, bringing along local employers and ensuring that exhibitors, teaching staff and students alike are sufficiently catered for on the day.  And it’s of huge credit to the schools attending on the day not only that they are keen to present such opportunities to their pupils, but also that we’ve been oversubscribed!

On the day itself, we have Mike and Jack from Learn by Design delivering two of our workshops (surrounding wind turbines and a ‘makey-makey’ session), and Colchester Institute staff themselves challenging students to design a school logo and use the centre’s equipment to bring designs to life.

Our fourth workshop consists of a combined Employer Marketplace, affording students the chance to speak to local companies about future opportunities and the range of career pathways into the sector. In addition, each exhibitor has a challenge to set of students and our winners will receive a small prize!

We’ll tell you more about the day next week – including feedback from local employers, students and teaching staff about their experience and what they’ve gained from the day!