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We’re delighted to host Engineering Together and the Womens’ Engineering Society Tyne Tees Cluster at EMCON 23!

This fringe event will take place on site at this years exhibition and is open to anyone Involved or interested in the attraction, recruitment or retention of staff within the engineering & manufacturing sector.

According to the Closing the Gap 2030 Report by MAKE UK, in 2022 there were 92,000 live vacancies in the manufacturing sector, and recruitment remains a real concern.

So what’s the solution? Increasing the size of the talent pool from which to fish can help…but that means no longer “recruiting engineers and manufacturers in your own image”. If we hire individuals who share similar backgrounds, experiences, skills and perspectives as team members and managers, then we limit the skill sets, the potential innovation and risk suffering from groupthink – stifling new ideas and critical thinking.

Diversity in terms of background, gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity and experience is proven to lead to more innovative solutions, but recruiting from a more diverse pool also comes with its challenges which must be addressed head on. And after spending time on recruitment from diverse groups, we’re still leaking talent! What can we do to encourage retention and return to work for a diverse workforce?

Hear tangible solutions and good practice from engineering & manufacturing colleagues on the attraction, recruitment & retention of a more diverse workforce. Strike a balance between hiring for ease of integration with bringing in different perspectives. Promote diversity, actively seek candidates from different backgrounds and create rounded innovative teams.

It’s good for business!

Timings

13:00 Introductions – Jo Douglas-Harris, Chair of the Women Engineering Society Tyne Tees Cluster

13:05 – 14:00

• REACH more candidates – STEMAZING is a Call to Action to collectively amplify the voice of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths so we can create a more diverse and inclusive STEM future
• RECRUIT more effectively – language, target groups – with Lauren Bathan Associate Director – HR Partnership at Jackson Hogg Limited
• RETAIN more people – peer groups; allies; health & well being, language, team leader & supervisor training; culture; travel – with Paula McMahon, Civil Engineer at Sir Robert McAlpine and Co-Chair SRM Gender Equality Network;
• RETURN after absence – flexible or phased return; – STEM Returners – A multi award winning helping employers access the very best available talent whilst improving their diversity & inclusion.
• Q & A
• 14:00 onwards Look around EMCON 23