Inclusive reach and early skills

Stemovators began life as Young Engineers Clubs before evolving into Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland. Clubs have always been central to its work, but as the organisation’s remit expanded to support STEM education across classrooms, year groups and whole schools, the name evolved to reflect this wider role.

In 2024, the name Stemovators was adopted to capture the organisation’s youthful energy, creative thinking and problem-solving approach.

Stemovators has a proud history of supporting teachers to stimulate interest in STEM in schools across Scotland for nearly 40 years. Its focus is on sparking curiosity and building skills in science, technology, engineering and maths through engaging, fun and practical STEM learning activities for schools.

Alongside technical learning, Stemovators’ sessions also support the development of young people’s social and creative skills, while encouraging curiosity, confidence and excitement about future careers in STEM.

Since launching in 2020, Powering Futures has worked with more than 7,000 young people and engaged over 180 Scottish businesses.

A total of 125 secondary schools across Scotland are now actively involved in Powering Futures, representing more than one third of all secondary schools nationwide.

Businesses and volunteers are partnered with schools and engage with them at regular intervals throughout the programme, building sustained relationships rather than one-off interactions.

Among the young workers who have taken part in the programme within their organisations, many have gone on to secure promotions, increasing their influence over internal sustainability processes.

Crucially, a number of participating businesses have implemented solutions developed and presented by their young colleagues, demonstrating the value of authentic engagement. Organisations including Lothian Buses, Seafood Scotland, Scottish Water and SSEN Transmission have already put these ideas into practice.

The Equal Engineers Pathways Programme is a year‑long mentoring and development initiative designed to help engineering, technology and related discipline students make a successful transition from education into professional careers. It bridges the gap between academic study and employment by combining one‑to‑one mentoring with practical skills development, career insights and real‑world experience.

Participants benefit from mentoring with experienced industry professionals, in‑person career insights, employability and work‑readiness workshops, virtual training on emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, and opportunities for placements, internships and graduate roles with partner organisations.

The programme is structured to boost confidence, inclusion and understanding of the engineering workplace while helping students expand their professional networks and improve their chances of securing employment after graduation. Employers taking part gain access to a diverse pool of emerging talent and can strengthen their own diversity and recruitment strategies.

EDT is a UK wide educational charity, delivering and accrediting 50,000+ experiences through the Industrial Cadets Awards each year. By connecting employers with young people and educators, EDT provides inspiring opportunities for young people aged 9 to 21 to explore the exciting world of STEM, and the variety of rewarding future careers available.

EDT developed Industrial Cadets with support from industry and education to provide a benchmark accreditation, mapping activities against a skills and competency framework.  Inspired by its Patron, His Majesty King Charles III, the scheme aims to increase diversity and inspire young people through industry-based experiences to become part of the workforce of the future.

Industrial Cadets is a widely recognised, accredited awards scheme providing industry-based experiences on pathways through education to employment.