A chance to celebrate the best in UK engineering and manufacturing talent and showcase those organisations championing skills development for the future.
The Enginuity Skills Awards are returning for a 10th edition in 2024.
Run by Enginuity – a not-for-profit dedicated to closing the UK’s engineering and manufacturing skills gaps – the annual awards aim to recognise individual talent and showcase the organisations championing skills development in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.
“The Enginuity Skills Awards are an important annual celebration of the people and organisations committed to developing the UK’s engineering and manufacturing skills, because the nominees inspire others,” explains Ann Watson, Chief Executive of Enginuity.
The 2024 event will offer awards in eight categories, with one intended for a business that has made a significant contribution to equality, diversity, and inclusion within their organisation, team, or the engineering and manufacturing sector as a whole. “Demonstrating that diversity and inclusion is an opportunity is going to be critical if UK engineering is not only going to tackle persistent and new skills gaps, but find new solutions to the challenges sectors and society face,” Watson says.
Last year’s ceremony saw the Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion Award go to BAE Systems. Judges were impressed by a number of the company’s initiatives, among them its Women in Craft Engineering work experience programme, which has increased the proportion of BAE’s female apprentices from 5% a decade ago to just under 30% in 2022. The company now plans to raise this to 40% by 2030 – well above the 10% national average.
Additionally, 27% of BAE Systems’ new apprentices in 2022 came from disadvantaged communities, and in recent years the company has created five Employee Resource Groups where workers with shared characteristics or life experiences can seek support and development advice: Enabled (disability), GEN (gender), Mindset (wellbeing), VetNet (veterans), and Outlink UK (LGBTQ+).
“We’re very proud of our apprentices, of the exceptional talent we have and the diversity within that talent pool. This is the way we will grow our business and become more productive,” says Dr Jacqueline Hall, Head of Apprenticeships & Skills at BAE Systems.
The company also took home an award in the Apprentice Employer of the Year category, meant for organisations that have invested significantly in apprenticeships providing STEM and other hard-to-recruit skills. Apprentices made up approximately 10% of BAE Systems’ UK workforce in 2022, and the 3,000 apprentices currently in training are set to increase their ranks to 5,000 in 2025. Statistically, 95% of the company’s learners will complete their apprenticeships compared with a national average of 52%, and those who do will all find employment there.
BAE Systems also received recognition for committing to skills development by investing £15 million in its Skills & Knowledge Academies, and ensuring that apprentices themselves play an active role in shaping their learning through initiatives including the Apprenticeship Governance Group and National Apprenticeship Council. “Apprenticeships are part of BAE Systems’ DNA,” says Jacqueline Hall. “Young people bring fresh perspectives and new skills that challenge business thinking and create a more positive culture.”
The 2024 Enginuity Skills Awards in Birmingham will provide a renewed opportunity for businesses to showcase their achievements, increase industry visibility, have a positive impact on employee morale, and network with hundreds of other engineering and manufacturing professionals.
Winners of the four apprenticeship categories this year – Graduate Degree or Higher level apprentice, Advanced level apprentice, Intermediate level apprentice and T Level student will receive a £1,000 prize, with two runners-up for each category also receiving £500.
Nominations close on February 16th, so apply today for your chance to win: enginuity.org/skills-awards-2024.
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