Background
This is Engineering: Schools - Northern Ireland is working to encourage more young people in the region, particularly young women and those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and other under-represented groups, to progress towards careers in professional engineering roles or as engineering technicians.
There is a well-documented STEM skills shortage in Northern Ireland, where skills are needed in many fields such as digital, ICT and creative industries, agri-tech and fintech, life and health sciences, and advanced manufacturing and engineering. A major contributing factor to the skills shortage in general is a significant gender imbalance across the STEM skills pipeline.
Programme aim
This is Engineering: Schools - Northern Ireland aims to create a collaborative culture of engineering across the local community, encompassing all phases of education. This approach will allow young people to access a continuum of STEM experiences that raise aspirations and enrich the curriculum throughout the whole of their education, from primary and secondary school, further education colleges and beyond.
We are providing a comprehensive package of support to a network of schools and colleges across Northern Ireland, which have been identified working closely with the NI Department for the Economy. By linking this network to locally-based STEM employers, universities and other stakeholders, we will raise students’ skills levels and provide links to real-world engineering, thus enhancing their knowledge of engineering careers and the pathways available to them.

For participating schools and colleges, the programme will provide:
- Up to £3,000 of in-house grants to our network of schools and further education colleges to purchase resources and provide experiences for students that will enhance the ‘E’ in STEM, and to celebrate national events such as Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and NI Science Festival
- STEM Challenge Days for students to excite, inspire, and stimulate interest
- Access to a peer-to-peer support network for our STEM teachers, providing the opportunity to share resources and best practice
- Teacher CPD and Academy educational resources to introduce students to real-world engineering
- Industry collaboration to share best practice and engender a supportive, sustainable network
Impact
The programme has funded 42 schools across Northern Ireland, providing opportunities for over 10,000 students to take part in STEM engagement activities and to gain skills in teamwork and problem solving, averaging 230 learning experiences per school.
Since launching in 2022 we have tracked the impact of the programme on the students and teachers who have taken part. In schools the engagement was split 52% boys and 48% girls. Teachers reported benefitting from participating in the programme, improving their technical communication skills and gaining confidence in delivering STEM activities. Other benefits include developing project management, developing technical knowledge and leadership skills.
Hear directly from our teacher coordinators and bursary awardees about their experience of the programme:
Participating schools
Enniskillen/Omagh
- SWC South West College
- Omagh High School
- Omagh County PS
- Enniskillen Integrated PS
- St Patrick's PS Mullanaskea
- St Aidan's High School Derrylin
- St Ninnidh's PS Derrylin
- St Naile's PS Kinawley
- St Mary's PS Killesher
- St Mary's PS Teemore
Newry/Craigavon
- SRC - Southern Regional College
- Our Lady's Grammar School Newry
- St Catherine's College Armagh
- St John the Baptist College Portadown
- St Patrick's PS Meadows
- St Joseph's Convent PS Newry
- Our Lady's PS Tullysaran
- St John the Baptist PS Portadown
- St Ronan's College Lurgan
- Lismore College Craigavon
- St Teresa's PS Lurgan
- Ballymacrickett PS Glenavy
- St Anthony's PS Craigavon
- St Brendan's PS Craigavon
North Belfast/Newton Abbey
- NRC - Northern Regional College
- Integrated College Glengormley
- Ballyhenry PS Glengormley
- Abbey Commuity College Newtownabbey
- Belfast Model Schools for Girls
- Blessed Trinity College Belfast
- St Therese of Lisieux PS Belfast
- Mercy College Belfast
- St Vincent de Paul PS
Lisburn/Bangor
- SERC - South Eastern Regional College
- St Colman's High School Ballynahinch
- St Macartan's PS Loughisland
- Laurellhill Community College
- Lisburn Central PS Lisburn
- Tonagh PS Lisburn
- Bangor Academy & Sixth Form College
- Bangor Central Integrated PS
This programme was launched in Spring 2022, in partnership with the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.
