The Engineers Ireland STEPS youth-focused education outreach programme is to be supported by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) over the period 2019-2021 as part of TII’s corporate commitment to encourage young people to consider a career in engineering.

The STEPS programme aims to encourage and educate future generations of engineers by supporting industry and community leaders to engage with primary and secondary school pupils through a number of hands-on workshops and programmes. These include Engineers Week, (nationwide festival, next spring it runs from 2 – 8 March 2019 – in 2018 over 850 scheduled events took place with more than 75,000 participants), Engineering Your Future (immersive experience for transition year students) and the Young Engineers Award. In partnership with the Irish Girl Guides, the STEPS team has also developed Engineering Badges for Girl Guides and Brownies.

STEPS is the only national full-time STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) outreach programme with a focus on engineering.

Michael Nolan, Chief Executive of TII said: “Engineers play a pivotal role at Transport Infrastructure Ireland as they enable us to develop high quality transport infrastructure and services which benefit families and communities throughout Ireland. Through our support of the Engineers Ireland STEPS programme, it is our hope that even more girls and boys will get the opportunity to explore the limitless opportunities a career in engineering offers and spark a curiosity that could potentially lead to future study and a career in the sector.”

Caroline Spillane, Director General of Engineers Ireland said: “Our latest survey of engineering employers has shown that over 6,000 new engineering positions have been forecast for next year. Coupled with the ambitions of Project Ireland 2040, engineers in Ireland have never been more in demand.

“Now, more than ever, we need to inspire and encourage primary and secondary school children to consider a career in engineering to ensure a future talent pipeline. We are extremely grateful to TII for supporting the Engineers Ireland STEPS programme to assist with our outreach efforts. Through this partnership, we hope to inspire even more boys and girls to consider engineering as an exciting future career choice and bring the world of engineering to life in schools and communities all around Ireland.”