IET harnesses scholarships ceremony to combat skills and recruitment shortage
15 Feb 2017
The Institution of Engineering and Technology has announced that nearly two thirds of its annual scholarships will benefit women and entrants facing financial and other hardships.
Some 51% of its Diamond Jubilee Scholarships awarded at a ceremony in London tonight (15 February) will go to female recipients – the first time they will form the majority of beneficiaries.
In addition to the 100 jubilee bursaries, the IET will also provide 26 recipients with its newly launched IET Engineering Horizons Bursaries – supporting students and apprentices who have faced personal or financial hardship.
Engineering is an exciting and diverse career with the opportunity to change lives and we want to get this message out to as many people as possible.
Jeremy Watson, president, IET
An IET spokesperson said the move demonstrated a commitment by the organisation and its partners “to use the scholarship programme to identify the best young female engineering talent in the UK”.
Males comprise 91% of the current workforce and it is predicted the skills shortage will increase without an influx of new recruits. Women are seen as a key source of new recruits.
IET president Jeremy Watson said: “Engineering is an exciting and diverse career with the opportunity to change lives – and the world – and we want to get this message out to as many people as possible.
“As we face a national skills shortage, we must attract more young people, particularly girls, into engineering so I’m delighted that over half of this year’s Diamond Jubilee Scholarships are being awarded to female students.”
IET scholarships and bursaries provide students with £1,000 per year of study on engineering degree or apprenticeship programmes, for up to four years.
These are supported by a range of collaborators including BAE Systems, BT, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Siemens, The Engineers Trust, the ERA Foundation, The Manly Trust, Mr and Mrs Tubbs and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
For more on applying for Diamond Jubilee scholarships click here or information about Horizons scholarships, go here.
