A celebration of careers guidance and free education resources across the UK
2 to 8 March 2026
National Careers Week is a week-long celebration of careers to inform young people about all the options available to them. Every year the week is dedicated to allowing schools, colleges, universities, alternative provision settings and organisations to inspire young people to think about their future. It’s backed with free, high-quality, downloadable, digital and video resources for educators to support planning and delivery.
Careers resources launched during the week are:
- hosted at the National Careers Week Virtual Careers Fair
- featured in a resource booklet
- part of a downloadable ezine
EngineeringUK are proud to be an official partner for National Careers Week 2026, sharing our careers resources from across our programmes.
Things to think about:
- 19% of all jobs in the UK are in engineering and technology
- up to 725,000 new jobs are needed to support the transition to net zero by 2030
- only 25% of young people think engineering fits well with who they are
- the contrast is stark between girls and boys: only 12% of girls say being an engineer fits well with who they are, compared with 38% of boys
- 36% of girls say science is not for them
- young people who are interested in an engineering career prefer a technical route (36%) compared to a university route (28%)
- only 53% of teachers feel confident advising students of vocational/technical pathways
Thinking of taking part?
- get young people in your communities to think about their future by showcasing all the different routes into STEM
- highlight opportunities at your organisation and the roles available
- share outreach activities and careers resources with local school networks
- host careers talks in a local school or an open day at your workplace
- use our careers resources to talk about career pathways into engineering and tech when you visit young people
Raising aspirations
According to the Science Education Tracker, 64% of young people say they get careers advice from their parents. However, 55% of parents say they’re not confident discussing engineering careers with their child.
If we’re to overcome skills and workforce shortages, we need to get more parents and young people talking about engineering and technology careers.
Inspiring a passion for STEM careers
Engineer their future
Help young people engineer their future with our Engineer your future presentation. This resource informs and inspires young people about the range of careers in the industry, building their understanding about what engineering is, what engineers do and routes into engineering.
Showcasing all the routes
Apprenticeships, T Levels, degree apprenticeships… there are many technical and vocational routes into engineering. Help young people discover more about them all in our comprehensive booklet and guide them to a career that’s right for them.
Inspiring tomorrow’s engineers
During Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2025 we shared a series of blogs from professional engineering institutions, each exploring a different engineering career and how to get into them. From civil and marine engineering to the science of acoustics, instrumentation, and non-corrosive testing, there’s something for every passion and skillset.
National Careers Week is a great opportunity to open up what you do and how to get into engineering. Take inspiration from our blog series for your own content.
EUK Education
EUK Education brings together everything we do for schools, teachers, careers leaders and young people. From curriculum-linked programmes and engaging resources to motivating case studies and accessible funding, it helps schools access quality STEM careers inspiration for their students.
