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Ahead of International Women in Engineering Day, Engineers Ireland calls on students to consider CAO options

As the CAO Change of Mind deadline approaches and in advance of International Women in Engineering Day on Sunday, 23 June, Engineers Ireland has renewed its call for Leaving Certificate students to engineer their future and consider a career in engineering.

Students reviewing their CAO selection prior to the 1 July deadline are urged to consider the limitless career opportunities a career in engineering offers and to check the Engineers Ireland database of accredited engineerin programmes, which cover levels 6, 7 and 8, to ensure their chosen engineering course at third-level meets the highest of international standards.

Commenting in advance of the CAO deadline, Caroline Spillane, Director General of Engineers Ireland said: “It has never been more important to inspire and encourage more young people, especially young women, to study engineering at third-level and to choose a career in engineering.

“Our recent survey of members has indicated that over 6,000 new jobs will be created in the engineering sector this year. While this demand is positive, engineering employers are facing an acute shortage of available talent to take up these employment opportunities.  The reality is that the number of students moving into third-level engineering and technology sectors needs to be much larger to meet employers’ future needs for graduates,” Ms. Spillane continued.

With females accounting for just 13% of last year’s engineering graduates, and as part of their International Women in Engineering Day campaign, the professional membership body for engineers in Ireland has placed a renewed emphasis on encouraging young women to consider a future career in the profession.

“There is a growing interest in STEM among young women, but as we saw from our recently published Engineering 2019 report, men still greatly outnumber women at each stage of engineering higher education and apprenticeships. It is incumbent on teachers, policymakers, parents and us all in industry, to play our part in building further awareness and interest in STEM, and particularly engineering, as a creative and diverse profession among female students”, Ms Spillane concluded.

Engineers Ireland is a leading advocate for STEM education, inspiring curiosity, exploration, creativity and problem-solving in children from an early age. Through the Engineers Ireland STEPS Programme – funded under Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover programme Call, and supported by industry leaders Arup, Intel, TII and ESB – the membership body has developed a number of hands-on workshops and programmes that aim to spark children’s imaginations about STEM and provide them with role models and real-world opportunities to engage with the engineering community.

Today, in advance of International Women in Engineering Day and as part of its STEPS programme, Engineers Ireland will host Whizzkidz: Discover IT and sixty primary school students to inspire the future generation of engineers. Students aged 10-11 years will get the opportunity to explore engineering through a Sketch Up workshop, learning about 3D design techniques and the engineering design process.

For more information on forthcoming STEM engagement initiatives, such as Engineers Week (29 Feb – 6 March 2020) and the Irish Girl Guides Engineering Badges, visit: www.steps.ie

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