Nearly 2,000 pupils will have the opportunity to get a taste of vocational learning thanks to the expansion of the STEM Engagement Fund in the Black Country and Birmingham.
The new financial backing is the brainchild of Michael Orlik and his sons, Anthony and Phillip, who have gifted £25,000 to the Training Manufacturing Group (TMG)’s charitable fund in memory of their wife and mum, Susan, a passionate advocate of giving young people the best start in education and employment.
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The funds will enable In-Comm Training, a leading independent provider of apprenticeships and training, to increase the reach of its programme. The company has enlisted five additional schools to take part in an intensive mix of STEM workshops, apprenticeship taster days, pre-apprenticeship courses, the nationally recognised F1 in Schools programme and company visits connected to its Aldridge facility. According to the company, there is enough money in the fund to invite a further ten schools to be involved in one of two special STEM workshops.
‘My wife Susan had a fantastic career in education and always shared a desire to give young people – who often face challenges early in their lives – a chance to have the best possible career they could,’ explained Michael. ‘This is what inspired my sons and me to explore the possibility of backing the STEM Engagement Fund in her memory, after she sadly passed away from cancer in 2022. The world can be a difficult place for 14- to 16-year-olds in the Black Country and Birmingham, and if we can make a positive difference, in some small way, then that would be the best possible legacy for Susan.
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‘We wanted to focus on apprenticeships and, in particular, engineering and manufacturing,’ he continued. ‘The region used to be such a global force of industry and, if we are going to compete internationally again, we need young talent coming through, yet many school pupils never consider a career in this field. The larger STEM Engagement Fund will hopefully change that. We’ll give them a taste of what skills you need, what the career path looks like and then there will be more in-depth practical days and the chance to talk to current apprentices “warts and all”. The idea is that we get at least 30 more apprentices signed up every year.’
Each of the core five schools will receive £4,000 worth of support, starting with either an F1 in Schools programme or a full STEM workshop involving a minimum of 120 pupils. The latter will explore pathways into industry and tackle a mechanical engineering challenge that will see them come up with a device to transport product from A to B.
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This will be followed up by two apprenticeship taster days, where 15 pupils on each day will be invited to In-Comm Training’s Technical Academy for a chance to see more than £3million of the latest manufacturing technology, which they could be working on, and to take part in a more in-depth task involving mechatronics and fluid power.
The final element of the STEM Engagement Fund is the pre-apprenticeship days for young people seriously considering the vocational route. These will give interested students the opportunity to talk to engineering tutors, chat to current and former apprentices about what it’s like and delve deeper into some of the core disciplines they’ll need, such as an understanding of engineering drawings, CNC machining and milling and turning.
‘The Orlik family has opened a possible career in engineering and manufacturing to another 2,000 young people with their generosity,’ said Leanne Mee, STEM engagement lead at In-Comm Training. ‘It will make such a difference to pupils across the Black Country and Birmingham and will no doubt create some of the industrial leaders of the future. The scheme, which was facilitated by former Metsec MD Steve Tilsley, is working well, with the additional funding helping In-Comm reach even more young people, giving them access to a world-class technical academy and more than 30 tutors who have significant experience and skills in this sector.’
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‘We were delighted to be involved in the STEM Engagement Fund and are excited about the range of activities that are on offer in this project,’ said Ben Edge, assistant principal at Joseph Leckie Academy, one of the five new schools enlisted in the programme. ‘Our Year 8 students experienced an F1 in Schools Day where they designed and built their own F1 car, our Year 10 pupils will take part in a STEM workshop and our Year 12 and 13 students will take an in-depth look into the world of engineering apprenticeships available to them once they finish their studies. As an academy, we are always striving to develop their work-related skills, knowledge and attitudes to ensure they leave us equipped to enter the world of work and we are sure that these activities with In-Comm will help to achieve this.’