ABM’s Junior Engineering Engagement Programme - J.E.E.P

The Junior Engineering Engagement Programme (J.E.E.P) gives students a guided introduction to core Facilities Management (FM) subjects such as electricity, lighting, and safety, through three classroom sessions. ABM team members attend each session to represent the industry, answer student questions, and work with young people on experiments and activities.

The course is centred around sustainability and finishes with a presentation from the students. They presented a sustainability project they have created in teams with the ultimate aim of making their school more environmentally sustainable.

Challenge

J.E.E.P aims to tackle misconceptions of the FM industry among young people and showcase the potential for a long-term career in the industry. Our goal is to change perceptions of the further education available, such as apprenticeships and degrees, providing open discussions. In the UK, parental income remains the single strongest indicator of educational attainment and we want to help every child reach their full potential, regardless of socio-economic background.

“J.E.E.P. is a collaborative project, engaging with young people across the country to promote core FM subjects. The programme focused on creating an awareness of sustainability and environmental protection in the classroom. Team members across the country participated through mentoring and education days in schools reaching over 600 students since 2017.”

Solution

ABM works in schools located in socio-economically deprived areas to illustrate the challenges and collaboration required to meet sustainable goals together. ABM mentors provide information on the opportunities available for both further education either at university or in the workplace as apprentices, with the attitude that everyone has the potential to succeed, they just need to discover what it is that interests them.

Over 600 students have attended across 23 schools since 2017 and in the 2021 academic year, J.E.E.P worked with 97 disadvantaged young people.

The project was a collaborative effort between ABM and an independent educational charity, The Talent Foundry. J.E.E.P. introduced year seven students, aged between 11 and 12, to the world of engineering and FM, bringing apprenticeships to their attention as a valid path to success before they choose their GCSE subjects. In 2021, ABM took J.E.E.P. to schools in London, Bradford, Leeds, and Birmingham, with sessions that ran from September to December.

Female students were encouraged to take part to raise the visibility of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) roles to female students; simultaneously addressing the diversity gap in these roles.

As a result, student participation included 67% Female, 23% Male and 10% Non-Binary (excluding students who selected not to share). Student feedback resulted in 94% of students rating the programme as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’, and 100% of students know, or think they know, what an apprenticeship is.

Benefits

Environmental

- The student projects are centred on reducing environmental impacts. One student invented the concept of a food waste bin that would convert food waste to electricity by installing a micro-anaerobic digestor.
- Students built miniature solar-powered buggies.
- The project created a new environmental awareness among students.

Economic

- Encouraging the next generation into meaningful work and education in the FM industry.
- Providing young people with choices to lower the risks of them becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training status (NEETS).

Social

- Young people are provided with career opportunities that they may not have been aware of before.
- Engaging with younger people to demonstrate there are different avenues into careers.
- Approximately 97 students were involved in the project in 2021 for three full days plus their own team working time.
- 18 ABM team members volunteered a total of 1.5 days each, equating to 27 days of volunteering, providing mentorship and professional expertise.
- J.E.E.P.’s latest results demonstrate:
- A 20% increase in student understanding of apprenticeships.
- A 19% increase in young people seeing apprenticeships as something exciting.
- 100% of teachers agreed that their students were more interested in learning skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).