Team members at Siemens Mobility’s Goole Rail Village have sparked interest in exciting careers in engineering through a programme engaging with hundreds of schoolchildren.
Together with national charity Primary Engineer, Siemens Mobility delivered the programme in primary schools in Goole and the surrounding area aimed at inspiring the next generation of train designers and engineers.
The initiative saw STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Ambassadors from Siemens Mobility deliver workshops in 13 schools, engaging with around 400 children and around 30 teachers across the school year – culminating in the largest celebration event for the programme to date, held at Snaith Sports Hall, near the Goole Rail Village.
Working together over five years, Siemens Mobility and Primary Engineer have engaged with almost 30 schools, more than 2,000 children, aged 5-11, and 80 teachers.
Natalie Thornton, Operations Support Manager at the Goole Rail Village, said: “Supporting programmes like Primary Engineer is an important part of Siemens Mobility’s mission to transform rail travel and transport in the UK – giving children, who have usually had no exposure to engineering, the opportunity to get hands on, and learn from professionals who have years of experience.
“This year has been particularly exciting as we’ve seen the programme grow significantly. We now have 21 fully-trained STEM Ambassadors, with a strong representation of female engineers, which is fantastic for inspiring girls to consider engineering careers.
“After five years of this programme, I’m hoping to start seeing some of these children coming through as apprentices in the future. That would be the ultimate success story.”
The programme involved engaging schoolchildren in rail-themed engineering projects and concepts, including the design, testing and evaluation of miniature trains.
Nick Donnelly, a STEM Consultant working on behalf of Primary Engineer, said: “Primary Engineer has a vision for every child from early years through to secondary education to have what we call the ‘engineering bug’ – we want to inspire and motivate them to become engineers.
“There are many misconceptions and stereotypes about engineering – people typically think of an engineer as a man with a hard hat and tools. But engineering is much more than that. Through programmes like this, we broaden children’s understanding so they can see something that fits for them and hopefully encourage them to pursue engineering.”
Siemens Mobility has committed up to £240 million in investment to make the Goole Rail Village an industry-leading centre of excellence, bringing up to 1,000 jobs to East Yorkshire as well as around 1,700 supply chain opportunities.
New Piccadilly line trains for Transport for London, which will transform travel on the London Underground, are being assembled at Goole. Siemens Mobility also plans to build all future main line trains for the UK at the East Yorkshire site, including new battery bi-mode trains that it has calculated could save Britain’s railways £3.5 billion and 12 million tonnes of CO2 over 35 years.
To find out more about Siemens Mobility’s work in Goole, go to www.siemens.co.uk/goole
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