Written evidence submitted by Airbus Defence & Space UK Ltd (COM0100)
This document is presented as submission to the Science Communication Inquiry by the Space Systems Division of Airbus Defence & Space UK Ltd.
An overview of our engagement activities is provided, along with observed trends and impacts.
Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group, is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise and the second largest space business worldwide. Its activities include space, military aircraft and related systems and services. It employs more than 38,000 people and in 2015 generated revenues of over €13bn.
We are submitting evidence to present a view of how we encourage awareness and engagement of STEM subjects, particularly in relation to young people.
The number and quality of applicants for our graduate and apprentice programmes has been in decline. In addition, we cannot expect to increase the diversity of our workforce if those from less represented groups are not continuing to study suitable subjects at school and beyond.
Since our restructure and rebranding from Astrium, an EADS company, to Airbus Defence & Space, an Airbus Group company, our recruitment is now managed centrally from outside the UK. It has been recognised that UK graduates do not compare favourably with other EU graduates, mainly due to differences in higher education schemes. This has led to retention difficulties as non-UK graduates look to relocate to their home countries. In order to recruit and retain the best candidates, we believe that we need to encourage a wider uptake and interest in STEM subjects.
At both our Stevenage and Portsmouth sites, we actively engage with local schools; in accordance with the following paragraphs.
At our Stevenage site, we have 4 visits per month, and at our Portsmouth site, we have 2-3 visits per month. Visits can be either on site, to which schools can come from anywhere, or off site, schools are located within 30 miles of the appropriate site. Most of our visits are from secondary schools (approximately 90%), but we recognise that primary engagement can have a greater impact.
A typical visit will include: site tour, spacecraft materials activity, spacecraft design and build activity and presentations about what we do. Visits are hosted by engineers and provided free of charge.
Over the past 5 years, we have been involved in the Engineering Education Scheme, aimed at AS level students; 1 project per year from Stevenage and 2/3 per year from Portsmouth. We support the school in picking the teams, arranging application and assessment days so pupils gain experience of work beyond the engineering. Projects are provided and a weekly mentoring session over the 6 months of the scheme.
For each project team we have run we have found the pupils to be very engaged. This does relate to the fact that students have to apply to take part in the scheme and it is usually very competitive. Pupils are already studying relevant subjects. We have seen students who have taken part in our projects applying to read STEM subjects at university, or applying directly onto our apprentice schemes. Compared to other pupils on the same subjects at the same schools, we are seeing higher levels of engagement in STEM subjects, with pupils also understanding how science can relate to the world of work outside of science in a laboratory.
At our Stevenage site, we host 2 to 3 Nuffield Research Placement Scheme students each year. These students are between AS level and A level and have to apply for a position on the scheme. The projects are real work that we require support on. Beyond working on their projects, pupils are expected to manage their own working hours, set up meetings as necessary, wear suitable business dress etc. In short, they are exposed to how their school STEM training is translated into the world of work. These students have all gone on to read STEM subjects at university.
The impact of work experience is very much down to the individual pupil. Some pupils are not always as interested in STEM at the start of a week, but may leave with a very different view of engineering. This is particularly true where we have girls on site. Showing how science and mathematics at school, where the focus is on learning techniques etc., translates to a job does seem to provide a turning point for those considering continuing STEM education or not. Again, this is contact over a sustained period (a week), compared to a one off visit.
Alongside attending careers fairs, sometimes jointly with Airbus Group, we run a presentation competition with UKSEDs. This has proved very popular and each year is growing in applications. We often see those that have applied for our competition and/or been on a site visit applying for our graduate scheme.
Other activities and organisations that we have supported in the past include:
May 2016