EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation have announced a pioneering five-year partnership to provide sustained, high-quality STEM experiences for secondary school students, focusing on widening participation and addressing the UK’s skills gap through bursaries, educator support, and comprehensive engagement strategies.
EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation have embarked on a groundbreaking five-year initiative aimed at significantly enhancing access to sustained, high-quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) experiences for secondary school students. The partnership, announced ahead of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2025, scheduled for 10 to 14 November, seeks to shift the current landscape from isolated STEM events to a continuous engagement model that supports improved academic performance and nurtures aspirations for STEM careers, with a particular focus on disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.
This ambitious programme will provide substantial multi-year bursaries alongside expert support to participating schools, facilitating a broad range of STEM activities. These include hands-on workshops, engineering-related trips, interactive classroom simulations, lessons linking STEM to contemporary real-world issues, extra-curricular STEM clubs, and career talks delivered by industry professionals. The ultimate goal is to inspire students and better prepare them for future careers, simultaneously addressing the UK’s acute skills shortage in the STEM sector.
Amanda Aldercotte, Head of Evaluation and Impact at EngineeringUK, emphasised the uniqueness of the partnership, stating, “We want to support schools in offering all their students access to meaningful, sustained STEM experiences that support their aspirations and future careers.” Polly Rowe, Head of Foundation Programmes and Engagement at City & Guilds Foundation, added that the initiative prioritises pupils facing economic and geographical disadvantages, highlighting that inspiring engagement in STEM can unlock life-changing opportunities and improve academic outcomes.
Supporting this initiative, the City & Guilds Foundation is already known for providing bursaries designed to make technical education and training more accessible, especially in engineering and technology sectors. This funding aims to build a skilled workforce in the UK and complements the new programme’s bursary provision to schools, fostering long-term engagement rather than one-off interventions.
Integral to the initiative is a rigorous five-year evaluation to monitor how students in supported schools make educational choices compared to those without such support. This data will offer valuable insights into the impact of sustained STEM engagement and guide future investments and policy-making to better integrate STEM activities into school curricula and career guidance frameworks.
Further complementing these efforts, EngineeringUK has recently rolled out a new STEM careers guide titled “Advancing STEM careers provision in schools.” Designed to support careers leaders, the guide offers practical, research-backed strategies to boost awareness and interest in engineering and technology careers among students, particularly addressing the underrepresentation of women in these fields. These resources align closely with the goals of the new partnership by equipping educators to inspire a broader and more diverse range of young people.
In addition, EngineeringUK’s broader commitment to STEM education is underlined by the launch of EUK Education, a consolidated platform providing educators with up-to-date resources, funding opportunities, and programmes aimed at responding to the ongoing engineering and technology skills shortage in the UK.
The City & Guilds Foundation also plays a wider role in promoting technical education and training excellence, as evidenced by their recent ‘Fellowship in the City’ event. This gathering celebrated individuals making significant contributions to the sector and discussed themes such as the transformative potential of AI in smart cities and the importance of inclusive education. Such events highlight the Foundation’s commitment to fostering innovation and connection within the technical education community.
Teacher training remains an essential pillar to successful STEM delivery in schools. For example, STEM Learning offers professional development courses like ‘Foundation knowledge of computer science for KS3 and GCSE,’ which equip educators with the skills and subject knowledge to effectively teach computing, an increasingly critical element of STEM education.
Altogether, these initiatives demonstrate a multifaceted approach to embedding STEM in secondary education—from enhanced funding and student engagement activities to career guidance, teacher training, and sector-wide celebration of technical education contributions. The five-year partnership between EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation represents a strategic effort to create a more inclusive, inspiring, and sustained STEM culture within UK schools, aligned with wider national goals to address skills shortages and widen participation.
📌 Reference Map:
- Paragraph 1 – [1] (Industrial News)
- Paragraph 2 – [1] (Industrial News)
- Paragraph 3 – [1] (Industrial News), [2] (City & Guilds Foundation)
- Paragraph 4 – [1] (Industrial News)
- Paragraph 5 – [3] (EngineeringUK), [1] (Industrial News)
- Paragraph 6 – [5] (The Manufacturer)
- Paragraph 7 – [4] (City & Guilds Foundation)
- Paragraph 8 – [6] (STEM Learning)
- Paragraph 9 – [1] (Industrial News), [2] (City & Guilds Foundation), [3] (EngineeringUK), [4] (City & Guilds Foundation), [5] (The Manufacturer), [6] (STEM Learning)
Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
8
Notes:
The narrative introduces a new five-year initiative by EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation to enhance STEM access for secondary school students. While the specific programme details are unique, similar initiatives have been announced in recent months, such as EngineeringUK’s launch of EUK Education in October 2024 ([themanufacturer.com](https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/engineeringuk-launches-euk-education-to-inspire-next-generation-into-future-stem-careers/?utm_source=openai)) and the release of a new STEM careers guide in April 2025 ([engineeringuk.com](https://www.engineeringuk.com/latest-news/press-releases/stem-guide-launches-for-careers-leaders-to-inspire-students-about-a-future-in-stem/?utm_source=openai)). The announcement ahead of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2025, scheduled for 10 to 14 November, suggests a timely and relevant development. However, the lack of prior coverage on this specific partnership indicates originality. The report appears to be based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were identified. No evidence of republishing across low-quality sites or clickbait networks was found. The narrative does not recycle older material but introduces updated data, justifying a higher freshness score.
Quotes check
Score:
9
Notes:
The direct quotes from Amanda Aldercotte and Polly Rowe are unique to this report, with no identical matches found in earlier material. This suggests potentially original or exclusive content. No variations in quote wording were noted.
Source reliability
Score:
7
Notes:
The narrative originates from Industrial News, a less well-known outlet, which may raise questions about its credibility. However, the content is corroborated by information from reputable organisations such as EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation, enhancing its reliability. The City & Guilds Foundation is a legitimate entity with a verifiable online presence, lending credibility to the report.
Plausability check
Score:
8
Notes:
The claims about the new five-year initiative align with the missions of EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation to enhance STEM education and address skills shortages. The narrative includes specific details about the programme’s structure and goals, which are consistent with the organisations’ known objectives. The language and tone are appropriate for the UK context, and the report does not contain excessive or off-topic details. The tone is formal and consistent with typical corporate communications.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The narrative presents a new initiative by EngineeringUK and the City & Guilds Foundation to enhance STEM access for secondary school students. While originating from a less well-known outlet, the content is corroborated by reputable organisations, and the details are plausible and consistent with the organisations’ missions. The lack of prior coverage on this specific partnership suggests originality. However, the source’s reliability and the outlet’s obscurity warrant a medium confidence level in the overall assessment.
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