Major employers back College’s engineering scholarship scheme

MAJOR employers have put their weight behind a pioneering scholarship scheme designed to help nurture the engineers of the future.

A series of companies have signed up to Middlesbrough College Group’s TTE Engineering Scholarship Programme, which aims to develop and attract high performing young people into engineering.

Middlesbrough College Group is already the largest engineering training provider in the country for school leavers and is hopeful that this new scheme, which starts in September, will further enhance prospects for its students.

Under the scheme, 40 of the Group’s top performing Level 3 engineering students will be matched with participating employers, get the chance to go on a work placement with their matched company and, at the end of the year, be interviewed for suitable employment or apprenticeship opportunities there.

The chosen students will also receive £50 a week – jointly funded by the College and by their matched employer – as part of their scholarship as well as accessing mentoring and other support from their matched employer.

Depending on the companies who sign up, the scholarship programme will operate right across the College’s engineering disciplines including electrical and electronic engineering, instrumentation and control engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering and wind turbine engineering.

Zoe Lewis, chief executive officer at Middlesbrough College Group, said:

“While we have a long and proud history of working closely with local employers and training young engineers, we are always searching for ways to create more opportunities for students and companies to work together.

“The TTE Engineering Scholarship Programme will not only nurture and develop the next generation of talented engineers, it will also provide an excellent opportunity for companies to support and mentor the brightest engineering students in the region and gaining access to a talented pool of future professionals.

“We’ve been absolutely delighted by the response from employers to the programme so far and we can’t wait to start our first cohort in September.”

One of the companies already signed up to the programme is chemicals giant Johnson Matthey.

Jon Wright, Site Responsible Engineer at Johnson Matthey’s Billingham site, explained:

“At Johnson Matthey we believe that science and engineering, and the work of STEM professionals, is key to tackling the big challenges facing the world today, to protect people and the planet.

“We are supporting the Engineering Scholarship Programme with the aim of reducing the barriers to young people entering and staying in STEM education and enabling early career opportunities for the long-term, sustainable benefit for our communities.”

Saltburn-based heavy machining specialist Tees Components has also signed up to the scholarship scheme.

Sharon Lane, managing director at Tees Components, said:

“Nurturing future talent is something we are passionate about at Tees Components.

“We have been training apprentices for decades, and it is a privilege for us to be able to work with young people across the Tees Valley for them to go forward in STEM careers, be that through our apprenticeship scheme, work experience placements, or any other guidance and support we can offer.

“Middlesbrough College Group’s new engineering scholarship programme is an exciting opportunity for us to meet and support our future engineers early in their careers, and we are looking forward to taking part.”

Ian Grimes, HR Manager at Paralloy, which has also signed up to the scholarship scheme, said:

“Consistent with Paralloy’s vision of the future and its commitment to fostering new partnerships within our community, we are delighted to be part of the new Engineering Scholarships Programme with Middlesbrough College.”

The new programme will start at the same time as the doors open on Middlesbrough College Group’s new £12m state of the art TTE training centre at the Group’s Middlehaven campus.

The centre will train over 300 full-time students, 300 apprentices and 500 adults each year, alongside a thriving international cohort of students.