Inclusive reach and early skills

Sparking curiosity and building STEM skills in schools across Scotland for nearly 40 years.

Audience

Primary and secondary school pupils, teachers, and schools.

What it helps with

Practical, hands-on STEM learning activities for classrooms, year groups, and whole schools — supporting teachers to deliver engaging science, technology, engineering, and maths sessions.

Impact

- Builds technical skills alongside confidence, creativity, and curiosity in young people.

- Encourages excitement about future careers in STEM through fun, practical learning.

Connecting Scottish secondary schools with businesses to build real-world sustainability skills and lasting industry relationships.

Audience

Secondary school pupils, teachers, and Scottish businesses and employers.

What it helps with

Sustained partnerships that give young people an authentic experience of sustainability challenges, going beyond one off interactions to build meaningful, ongoing engagement.

Impact

- Reached over 7,000 young people and 180+ businesses across 125 secondary schools.

- Delivered real change: solutions developed by young people have been implemented by organisations including Lothian Buses, Scottish Water, and SSEN Transmission.

A year long mentoring and development programme bridging the gap between engineering study and professional careers.

Audience

Engineering, technology, and related discipline students, and employers looking to diversify their talent pipeline.

What it helps with

One-to-one industry mentoring, employability workshops, emotional intelligence training, and access to placements, internships, and graduate roles. It builds the confidence and connections students need to move from education into work.

Impact

- Boosts confidence, inclusion, and work-readiness for students entering the engineering profession.

- Gives employers access to diverse emerging talent while strengthening their recruitment and EDI strategies.

A UK-wide accredited awards scheme connecting young people aged 9–21 with industry based STEM experiences and pathways to employment.

Audience

Young people, educators, and employers across the UK.

What it helps with

Accredited, industry-based experiences mapped against a skills and competency framework. It helps young people explore STEM careers while giving employers a recognised structure for meaningful engagement with education.

Impact

- Delivers 50,000+ accredited experiences each year through the Industrial Cadets Awards.

- Increases diversity in STEM by inspiring young people from education through to employment, with the patronage of His Majesty King Charles III.