“Supporting STEM education is essential for building a strong talent pipeline. By engaging with schools and colleges, businesses can also develop employee skills, enhance employee satisfaction, and contribute to their communities. Manchester Digital encourages our members to get involved in initiatives like STEM Ambassadors to reap these benefits and make a lasting impact. This is a brilliant use of your time and an excellent utilisation of volunteer days! ”
Kate Wilson, Head of Partnerships, Manchester Digital
Data from The Career & Enterprise Company shows that connecting with young people as a key source of talent can be achieved through effective school and college engagement programmes. Over 360 employers - who collectively employ over a million people in the UK - were surveyed, and:
83% said their work in schools and colleges is helping them develop new talent pipelines
86% said their work is supporting more young people to take up careers in their industry
72% said it improves the effectiveness of early years recruitment
But engaging with schools doesn’t just help your business talent pipeline - it also helps your employees, and teachers. Data from STEM Ambassadors, delivered by STEM Learning, shows that:
90% of volunteers said it increases their sense of satisfaction with their work
96% of volunteers said their experiences enhanced their ability to communicate with a range of audiences
Over 90% reported improvements in presentation skills and relationship building and networking
90% of young people said engaging with volunteers increased their understanding of why STEM subjects are important particularly in the workplace
90% of educators said engaging with STEM Ambassadors improved their own knowledge of STEM careers, and 86% said engaging had improved their enthusiasm for teaching STEM subjects
So what proactive steps can businesses take to start to engage young people and schools? Start by identifying the outcomes most valuable to your organisation. Here are some actionable steps:
- Identify clear outcomes you want to achieve: Increased employee engagement, increased employee skills and resilience, social value delivery, local impact/national impact, increased brand awareness, increased talent pipeline, increased team diversity, community engagement, engagement of a particular age group or demographic of students
- Identify your budget: Consider areas such as recruitment, employee learning and development, employee engagement, brand awareness, and ESG delivery as potential sources of budget
- Create a volunteering policy that allows your employees to take time out of their working day to volunteer
- Find platforms and partners that can support you with what you want to achieve. For schools and community engagement, STEM Ambassadors have been inspiring young people in classrooms (in person and remotely) for more than 20 years...and it’s free to use them!
- Build a meaningful programme of activities that can be delivered simply and easily by your employees year after year. You can use the CEC standards, employers guide to supporting STEM careers education in England, and Guide to volunteering for new and experienced STEM Ambassadors as a starting point. These are all free to use!
- Work with schools that are not already over-subscribed with volunteers and careers advice and consider hybrid solutions, both in person and virtual, to help reach more young people eg in rural or coastal communities
- Partner with others from your ecosystem: Engage your supply chain and identify your key customers or clients to be part of your volunteering programme. This will strengthen connections between your organisations
- Be prepared to track, adapt, and innovate: Ensure that you move with the times and don't endlessly repeat a once successful model. Honestly evaluate after each engagement and reflect on where improvements can be made. Using the CEC self-assessment framework is an easy way to track your progress and identify improvements.
