About Welsh Valleys Engineering Project
The Welsh Valleys Engineering Project (WVEP) is an engineering education programme established by the Royal Academy of Engineering. It delivers STEM education support for students and teachers, and provides opportunities and career guidance beyond the classroom. The project plays an integral role in transforming local communities. It raises young peoples’ aspirations and improves social mobility in the Welsh Valleys, a region of socio-economic deprivation.
The Welsh Valleys have a long history of engineering and the Academy has built on the regions’ heritage. It supports the untapped engineering potential within students in this area and builds a skills base that will support many of the new engineering companies investing in South Wales.
What We Offer
We work collaboratively with primary and secondary schools and further education (FE) colleges in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent to inspire and encourage students to take up science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in post-16 education. This enables them to access engineering career pathways.
Our programme enriches the curriculum, enhances pupil engagement, and increases attainment outcomes by bringing real-world engineering practice into schools. A further (and principal) aim of the project is to encourage women and under-represented groups to progress towards professional engineering roles within local industry.
The project provides support for schools and FE colleges, including:
- A local project coordinator, who facilitates termly network meetings and fosters partnerships between schools, local employers and industry.
- Teacher training and free STEM resources kits (engineering-themed STEM boxes) to enhance and add context to the curriculum.
School and employer engagement
The employer engagement strand was launched in 2021, partnering schools with STEM businesses to collaboratively develop an extended STEM challenge. Challenges are delivered in school with support from the STEM business and focus on building careers awareness and employability skills. We are delighted that Welsh Government have generously supported the employer engagement strand to extend to all 54 schools in Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil.
Students are given real world challenges, contextualising their learning and providing them with opportunities to gain a greater understanding and insight into STEM careers.
Schools work in regional clusters and are paired with businesses to develop a challenge linked to their industry. Subsequent challenges are then delivered on a rotational basis for each school in each cluster. All schools receive up to £250 per term to support them in the delivery of their employer engagement challenge.
Businesses supporting WVEP schools
Panasonic, Vishay, Safran Seats, Continental Teves, Concrete Canvas, General Dynamics, Thales/National Digital Exploitation Centre, Zimmer Biomet, Tata Steel, Morgan Sindall, Peter Jones (ILG) with JC Moulding, Wild Connect, Lightsource BP, ORE Catapult, and Future Valleys Construction.
Programme impact
What impact is WVEP having?
ince the project was launched in 2018, more than 15,000 young learners have participated in at least one engineering experience. 78% of the total primary student population and 52% of the total secondary student population have taken part in one or more STEM activities during the past six years.
There have been approximately 3,000 engineering experiences at College level using WVEP funded resources and 124 Panasonic Trust Future Engineers bursaries awarded. 17 businesses have so far been recruited for the employer engagement strand and 5,200 primary and secondary school students have participated in STEM challenge projects.
This has resulted in improved links between secondary and feeder primary schools, increased interest in STEM and computing subjects and raising numbers of students opting for engineering-related subjects at FE Colleges. Students’ perception and understanding of engineering and broader interpretation of engineering career routes has also grown.
WVEP has improved aspirations and motivated young people to follow careers in engineering and develop student ambassadorial roles through Future Engineer awards and employer engagement projects.