This week Ian Mean, Business West Gloucestershire director, looks at how SGS Berkeley Green UTC is inspiring girls to train in engineering.

Andy Keenan is assistant principal at SGS Berkeley Green UTC, an ex-RAF engineer who believes that his young women engineering students can help fill the skills gap in Gloucestershire.

“We have a massive skills gap in engineering, and we need to get used to more women in engineering”, he tells me.

“The current uptake of engineering posts by women is about 11 per cent.

“If we can close that gender gap so that it was close to 50-50 the skills gap in engineering would be solved.

“The girls we have here are so impressive.”

Having met some of these girls, I totally agree.

But Berkeley is not just about developing girls in engineering, digital and cyber skills, the boys are equally enthusiastic.

On the morning I visited, I saw young people arriving in buses from all over Gloucestershire—many had travelled up to an hour.

I was blown away by their enthusiasm as a tutor wished them good morning.

“Some of the students who travel here the furthest arrive skipping and full of energy,” says Andy, who teaches but is also responsible for the all important employer engagement and work experience.

So why are the Berkeley students - and there are now 300 of them -so enthusiastic?

Well, they all want to be there to learn.

All have made the conscious decision - with family support - to take the plunge and leave their secondary school.

“When they walk in here they can spend 30-40 per cent of the time doing something they love”, says Andy.

“Of course, they have to do maths, English and science but then they spend large chunks of the day doing hands-on engineering or coding.

“I think this is a way forward. It is very similar to the German model where they have colleges with specific skill sets.”

Serena Lester, 15, from Gloucester, a former Newent Community School student, said: “The opportunities to study engineering here were really great and I want to be an engineer-designing and developing stuff is what interests me.

“I left Newent Community School because of the opportunities in engineering here.

“My dad’s an electrical engineer”.

Lauren Kingston, 17, who attended Archway School in Stroud, said: “In 2017, I had a spinal operation and I missed a lot of school.

“When I learned more about the opportunities here at Berkeley I thought it was so much a better fit for what I wanted to do.

“It is a lot better environment here at Berkeley.

“It is very impersonal in a normal school but everyone here more or less knows each other.

“The education you get is much better because of that. It feels like people actually care here.

“My dad is an engineer at Renishaw and he has always taught me things about what he does as a job.

Olivia Bond, 14, who attended Sir William Romney’s School in Tetbury and lives in Avening, said: “It was the career option - where I wanted to go-which made me choose to come to Berkeley.

“I want to do something with digital and cyber, I like the idea of computer analysis.

“There’s wide opportunities like GCHQ, I do like coding and anything to do with computers.

“It was a big decision to leave William Romney because I now travel and hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.

“But my family have been very supportive.”

Mikayla Bingle, 15, who attended Maidenhill School in Stonehouse, said: “My stepdad is an agricultural design engineer and I got a feel for engineering from him and I would now like to be a bio-medical engineer.

“It would be designing prosthetics and machinery to carry out tests in hospitals.

“The change from the average school to come here and the longer hours was a big decision but I definitely think it was the right one.”

Are you a girl in Year 8 or 9 (aged 12-14)? Are you interested in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM)?

SGS Berkeley Green UTC is running an open day called Girls Into Technology where you can take part in workshops run by amazing companies including Renishaw, Airbus, Deloitte, Atkins, Cyber Security Associates and GE Aviation.

Visitors can also hear women working in this exciting sector talk about their experiences and network with employers who could be looking to give you a

job in a few years time.

Talk to employers about your GCSE options and opportunities in engineering and technology.

Takes place on Friday, May 31 from 9.30am to 3.15pm at SGS Berkeley Green UTC, Gloucestershire Science and

Technology Park, Berkeley, GL13 9FB.

Please book a ticket for girls attending. No need to book for those accompanying them.

Book at

bit.ly/2HL327c