Budding young engineers from across the North East have been invited to display their skills and represent their schools in a region-wide competition.
The Institution of Civil Engineers is asking Year 7 and 8 students, and those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) clubs, from North East schools to enter its Inspire Competition.
Teams that enter the competition have to produce an advert to attract people into the civil engineering profession, which requires 87,000 new personnel each year to fill 2.6 million jobs in the industry across the UK. Entries will be assessed by a panel of professional engineers, and qualifying teams will be invited to a Finals Day in May 2017, where they will work as real-life civil engineers to complete a practical, hands-on construction project.
The winning team will receive £500 for their school and a £50 shopping voucher for each team member. The winners of the 2015/16 competition were a group of girls from St Robert of Newminster School in Biddick, Tyne and Wear.
Penny Marshall, ICE Regional Director said: “Our young people are the future of civil engineering, so it is important to inspire them to take an interest in it at an early age. The UK does not have enough engineers. To meet demand we have to double the number of engineering apprentices and double the number of people with engineering qualifications.
“As a profession we need innovative ideas to attract engineers from all areas of society, to ensure a diverse workforce fit to tackle challenges such as climate change, population growth, building bigger and taller buildings and providing clean water and sanitation for all.”
More information and details of how to enter the competition, which is sponsored by A One+, Farrans, Galliford Try (in parternship with South Tyneside Council), Sir Robert McAlpine, BAM Nuttall and Capita, can be found at https://www.ice.org.uk/near-you/uk/north-east/inspire.