We're in year 2 of our strategy
2024/25 marked the second year of our 5-year strategy to inspire more young people from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in engineering and technology. Achieving this mission is vital for improving sustainability, achieving net zero and driving economic prosperity. With engineering and technology jobs predicted to grow faster than other sectors by 2030, the UK needs a future workforce that boosts creativity, innovation and market insight.
Many young people are unaware of the opportunities available, so EngineeringUK works in partnership with hundreds of organisations to change that. Through research, evidence and evaluation, we understand workforce needs and how to inspire the next generation. We deliver school activities, advocate for STEM careers education and lead efforts to maximise collective impact.
The year has been full of highlights. We want to thank all our fantastic supporters, partners, members, funders, volunteers, teachers, careers advisors and students who have worked with us over the year.
Read our full highlights report
New in 2024/25
EUK Education
The new home for STEM inspiration, our website EUK Education launched in September 2024. The site, alongside EUK Education social media activity, showcases our work for schools. It helps teachers, educators and careers leaders access careers information, resources, programmes and funding opportunities.
Gender pathways into engineering and technology
We built a new partnership to tackle the decline in girls’ interest in science as well as the underrepresentation of women in engineering and tech careers. This collective share a mission to significantly increase the number of young women progressing into engineering and technology pathways at age 18. Together, we’ve identified 6 areas for action. Task and finish groups have been established, collaborating to drive policy change.
Find out more and see who's involved
The Code explores...
In May we launched The Code explores… a flagship feature of The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code. It offers members flexible, in-depth learning on key outreach topics through live online events, on-demand content, resources and community discussion. The pilot, engaging schools, focused on building stronger relationships with schools and showed teachers value curriculum-linked outreach connected to real engineering and technology careers.
Some outcomes
We evaluate our schools’ activity with young people and teachers. We also survey our stakeholders, including our Corporate Members, Professional Engineering Institutions and supporters, annually. All the feedback helps us iterate and improve what we do.
What young people told us
- 94% said Energy Quest had increased their knowledge of engineering jobs
- 84% attending The Big Bang Fair said it made them more interested in a job in STEM
- 90% participating in The Big Bang Competition made them want to do more STEM activities in the future
- 69% said the Climate Schools Programme helped them feel more hopeful about what we can do to tackle climate change
What teachers told us
- 76% said that the Climate Schools Programme helped them feel more knowledgeable about engineering and tech careers
- 97% agreed The Big Bang Fair highlighted a wide range of careers in engineering and technology
- 93% told us The Big Bang at School is accessible to students of all abilities
What stakeholders told us
EngineeringUK is seen as a trusted voice on:
- approaches to engage young people in STEM (94%)
- equity, diversity and inclusion in the engineering sector (85%)
- what enables, deters or inspires young people to pursue a career in engineering and tech (86%)
EngineeringUK is seen as effective at:
- providing insight and guidance to stakeholders on evaluating STEM engagement activities (78%)
- providing access to information and guidance on engaging underrepresented audiences (76%)
- providing access to advice on how to align and develop effective STEM engagement plans and practices (81%)
- delivering campaigns to change young people’s perceptions of engineering and tech (76%)
- highlighting to young people that they can make a positive impact on the environment through a career in engineering and tech (71%)
- helping teachers identify engineering and tech focused STEM engagement activities (65%)
The Tomorrow's Engineers Code helped members
- 76% of Signatories agree that being a member of The Code improved the way their organisation understands how its activities relate to other STEM outreach activities
- 61% said The Code has enhanced their collaboration with other organisations involved in STEM outreach
Some of our plans for 2025/26
Our commitment to environmental sustainability and equity, diversity and inclusion underpins all our work. We use sustainability – a topic important to young people, especially girls – to inspire interest in engineering and technology careers.
Organisationally, we aim to become net zero by 2040, reducing carbon emissions by at least 90% in line with SBTi, and are on track for a 50% cut by 2030 (from our 2018/19 baseline).
We also focus on improving both the number and diversity of those entering the sector, targeting school activities to underrepresented groups so they are better informed about engineering careers and the routes into them.
Research and evidence
We’ll continue publishing regular research, insights and analysis. Over the next 5 years we’ll explore how multiple STEM engagements influence young people’s subject choices and career aspirations.
Leadership
We’ll keep working with our networks – including Corporate Members, professional institutions and the Code community – to improve coordination, inclusivity and impact across engineering and technology engagement.
Activities for schools
We’ll expand the reach and impact of our activities for young people, ensuring they are ethically delivered and reflect sector priorities. We are also piloting a new programme with a new partner to show engineering’s role in the food industry, and related careers.
Advocacy
We’ll continue engaging with government on STEM education, careers and workforce planning, partnering with the National Engineering Policy Centre and drawing on members’ expertise. We are working to establish an All-Party Parliamentary Group on engineering and technology skills for growth.
Support our work
We don’t charge schools for any of the programmes, resources or services we offer. Financial support helps us develop and deliver programmes to support more schools and reach more young people.
