Two years on from its launch, the ECITB Scholarship is going from strength-to-strength with 260 scholars preparing for careers in the engineering construction industry and a further 160 scholars set to start on programme in September.
Approved Scholarship Providers, like Richmond upon Thames College, have been licensed to deliver the ECITB Scholarship.
The ECITB Scholarship was created early in 2020 to provide a pipeline of new talent into industry while employers withstood the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Each course focuses on identified skills shortages in the region and provides the Scholars with foundation skills for successful careers in industry.
The programme supports industry in the short term by underwriting the risk to employers of taking on new entrants and in the long term by launching the next generation into engineering careers. At the end of the scholarship, learners acquire a level 3 engineering certificate as well as relevant site passports. For employers, this is an excellent opportunity to recruit a young person who has had the requisite training to be either fast-tracked into an advanced stage of an apprenticeship or recruited as a direct site hire.
The Scholarship is currently delivered by training providers across 11 locations across England, Scotland, and Wales. Underpinned by robust labour market intelligence each cohort targets specific disciplines to address anticipated skill shortages. Last year the ECITB expanded the scholarship offering with the introduction of new single year craft pathways, which replaced the Introduction to Engineering Construction (ITEC) programme. We also launched a 2-year multi-disciplined energy transfer technician pathway. This year we are piloting a new 2-year wind turbine technician pathway, along with an industrial welding pathway, which focuses on industrial welder coding as opposed to vocational qualifications.
ECITB Chief Executive Chris Claydon
Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, said: “I’m extremely proud of the successful rollout to date of our Scholarship programme. Developing a pipeline of young people, trained and qualified with in-demand skills is crucial to the future success of our industry. This training will provide scholars with a launch pad for what I hope will be highly successful careers in engineering construction.
“The ECITB has identified that the engineering construction industry will face critical skills shortages over coming years and through our detailed understanding of the labour market we have targeted specific disciplines according to regional demand.
“Each programme is created to deliver training that is relevant to the skills needs of the area and to meet the challenges of net zero with new pathways this year focused on renewable technologies and the energy transition.”
While some Scholars have already secured employment within the ECI, the first scholars from the 2020 cohort will graduate in June this year. You can find out more about the various ECITB Scholarship programmes running across the UK via the links below.
To engage with the programme and meet the Scholars please contact Shashi.Ardeshana@ecitb.org.uk; Andrew.Thomas@ecitb.org.uk; or Ashley.Thompson@ecitb.org.uk
