The initiative, which is part of the company’s celebrations of 125 years of Bosch in the UK, is designed to inspire the next generation of children to get involved with the STEM topics of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
The partnership addresses the need to combat the current skills gap in STEM as a report by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in December 2022 showed there was a shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the sector, costing the economy £1.5bn per year.
Closing the skills gap
The FIRST® LEGO® League is a global initiative that strives to engage children from 4 to 16 by helping them build habits of learning, confidence, and teamwork through hands-on experiences with science and technology.
The partnership is one example of Worcester Bosch’s commitment to closing the skills gap and engaging a generation of young people to enter the sector, building on long-term engagement through its Cecil Duckworth Apprenticeship scheme.
Global impact
As part of the action-packed morning, children from Perry Wood, St Georges Catholic Primary, Sychampton School, Upton Snodsbury and St Peters Church of England Academy were welcomed by the company’s CEO, Carl Arntzen, who spoke with the children about how interesting and important STEM topics are. This year’s theme – SUPERPOWERED – introduced them to the idea of energy journeys and encouraged them to explore their own ideas and solutions for the future. Each school presented their LEGO projects to Worcester Bosch Reviewers before an interactive, sustainability-minded game.
“There is no better way to hear how rewarding a career in the STEM industries can be than from those who have pursued it.”
Spanning 110 countries, the FIRST® LEGO® League has already helped over 650,000 children through a guided, and global robotics program to engage critical thinking, coding and design skills.
Carl Arntzen commented: “As a business with strong routes in engineering, we are acutely aware of the ever-present skills gap in the STEM industries. As a result, and as part of the 125 years of Bosch in the UK activities, we are proud to partner with FIRST® LEGO® League and directly engage with young people of all ages in STEM.
“We are committed to inspire individuals into the field by dedicating time to sharing the knowledge and enthusiasm to help develop tomorrow’s engineers.”
David Lakin, head of education, safeguarding & education policy at the IET added: “We are incredibly pleased to partner with Bosch to make this FIRST® LEGO® Explore Festival at Worcester Bosch a reality. Businesses such as theirs have shown how continued investment in STEM can impact local lives and are fundamental in driving participation in careers in relevant industries.
“There is no better way to hear how rewarding a career in the STEM industries can be than from those who have pursued it and we look forward to seeing how these young children develop for the future.”
