Babcock International Group (Babcock), the defence company, has welcomed more than 300 local primary school pupils to its annual Festival of Engineering at Rosyth to help them explore the kinds of skills they will need for a career in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).
Showcasing past innovations to modern day developments, Babcock’s Rosyth facility opened its doors to the two-day festival with the theme ‘Celebrating Scottish Engineering Excellence’, encouraging its young guests to explore the hi-tech world of engineering, robotics, advanced manufacturing and virtual reality.
With the company’s recent announcement that it is recruiting 400 new apprentices over the next four years, the importance of nurturing future talent to support the engineering sector was on show at the Festival of Engineering, giving the young people an insight into the things that engineers with Babcock, its partners and wider organisations do, and the kind of skills required to work in the profession.
The event comes shortly after the company, alongside Nuclear Skills Executive Council members, signed a UK Nuclear Skills Charter to further support the UK Government’s skills agenda by significantly increasing investment in early careers, as well as investing in the leaders of the future.
Now in its fifth year, the festival of engineering is an important part of Babcock’s UK-wide focus on STEM engagement activity, which includes regular on-site and externally hosted events with the aim to provide advice and encouragement to school pupils on considering the varied careers open to them.
Divided into five zones of engineering innovations, the Babcock event was supported by a range of organisations including the Royal Navy, Scottish Engineering and Fife College, alongside a number of industry partners and colleagues.
Paul Armstrong, Babcock’s Marine CEO, said: “We were delighted to welcome so many young people to explore the wonders of engineering at our Rosyth site.
“Babcock’s work is critical to UK defence and beyond, so it is important that we have the right people, with the right skills, enthused and interested in pursuing STEM-based careers. Programmes like the Festival of Engineering, our Apprenticeships and Production Support Operative scheme all underpin our commitment to the future and our strategy of promoting the career paths we offer in Babcock.
“The feedback from the children and teachers who attended was fantastic and we look forward to continuing our STEM engagement activities this year.”
Paul Sheerin, CEO of Scottish Engineering, added: “It’s a privilege to be a part of Babcock’s Festival of Engineering. The event is such a joy to see, with so many primary school learners getting the chance to engage with a wide range of STEM activities.
“The size, scale and commitment to organise is impressive, and underlines how important it is to ambitious organisations like Babcock International Group to ensure that they are building positive recognition in their pipeline of potential future talent.”
With thanks to Babcock International for providing this story and the images associated with it.
