At the end of 2016, YGN volunteers Consultants James Daley and Melanie Harris (RPS Risk Management) were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to attend a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers fair at Culcheth High School.
STEM activities provide an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to learning that provides hands-on and relevant learning experiences for students. They engage students and equip them with critical thinking, problem solving, creative and collaborative skills, and ultimately establishes connections between the school, work place, community and the global economy. STEM activities also help students understand and apply math and science content which can be the foundations for success in college and throughout careers, such as those within RPS Risk Management. The delivery of young people's STEM activities in the UK is supported by a network of ambassadors, trained and coordinated by the charity STEMNet.
Culcheth High School has 1100 pupils and is situated on the edge of Birchwood Science Park where there are a range of STEM businesses. The aim of the fair was to maintain the focus, enthusiasm and interest of the pupils with regards to various STEM industries. Therefore, RPS Risk Management sent two consultants with engineering backgrounds to support the careers fair to open the eyes of the students to the rich and vast range of careers available within this area of business.
The day involved each year group coming into the sports hall for approximately an hour, where they went round each of the stands finding out about different companies and the various routes to potentially get into them. The RPS Risk Management stand was very popular with the students, as we had various leaflets, handouts, puzzles and a shuffle board game to play on the table. The pupils were very competitive and kept coming back to the stand to attempt to get the highest score on the shuffle board! Whilst waiting to play the game, the pupils had the chance to ask us questions about RPS Risk Management and our role within the company. As fairly recent graduates, we were able to give them honest and valuable information about getting into this kind of industry and how rewarding it is.
Overall, the day was extremely positive, with the teachers stating after that the pupils ‘were buzzing around school talking about our stand and RPS Risk Management’.
