Principal urges more students to ‘STEAM’ ahead into higher education

Students receiving their A level and GCSE results this year are being encouraged to consider enrolling on a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts or Maths (STEAM) programmes at their local college.

Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive of SERC said, "I am encouraging students to explore the many possibilities that their local further education college can offer by studying STEAM subjects, a key driver of economic growth and prosperity.

“It is also important that we encourage more females to look at perusing careers in sectors such as engineering.   Only 12% of all engineers are women in the UK[1] and research indicates that we will need more engineers to contribute to the country's development to accelerate growth.

He added, “SERC is fast becoming a centre of excellence for STEAM programmes. In the past year our students have excelled at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition, winning best Northern Ireland project, Group 1st Place and BT Best Overall School from Northern Ireland; engineering students have won grants to further develop life-saving devices for the fishing industry and our Science Team recently won a prestigious BTEC Silver Award for teaching.

“70% of our Higher Education students are achieving Distinction profiles in their HE programmes – a figure likely to increase following the August Supplementary Exam Boards -  which means that our students are in the best possible position to progress to those highly competitive places in nursing, engineering and bio medical programmes at university. 

He concluded, “As well as having qualifications, students need to have much more in terms of skills and experience.   This includes soft skills, such as communication, presentation and organisational skills which allow students to excel in studies, work and life.  At SERC we place important value on project-based learning which gives students opportunities to work together on real life scenarios, solving problems and developing entrepreneurial skills as soon as they walk through the door.”  

SERC offer an extensive range of higher education qualifications including foundation degrees in computing, applied science and mechatronic engineering and HNDs in manufacturing and electrical engineering. 

For students awaiting their A levels, our Higher Education Open Days are taking place on Thursday 15 August from 9am-5pm and Friday 16 August from 9am-3pm. SERC offer a range of higher-level qualifications including HNCs, HNDs, Foundation Degrees, Higher Level Apprenticeships and Degree programmes. Applications for courses starting in September are still open. To apply please visit apply.serc.ac.uk For more information please call 0345 600 7555, or find SERC on Facebook, search: SERC.

To make an appointment, please email careers@serc.ac.uk or call the College on 0345 600 7555 and ask for the careers team at the nearest campus. 

[1] The Women’s Engineering Society  https://www.wes.org.uk/content/wesstatistics