Posted 24 April 2025

A group of Year 10 students increased their knowledge and confidence around science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) thanks to Go Higher West Yorkshire’s (GHWY) unique ‘Go Higher in… Day.’ 

Delivered in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), the event sought to raise awareness of STEM jobs and career pathways. It was organised in response to local labour market information that shows young people need to be prepared for and made aware of these opportunities to ensure a local pipeline of talent.  

STEM jobs, such as computer programmers and researchers, have grown by 50% across West Yorkshire in recent years and now make up 10% of all job postings in the region. It is therefore essential to connect careers provision in schools and colleges to the needs of local economies. 

Practical workshops 

The event, hosted at University of Leeds’ Helix Innovation Hub, was supported and delivered by a wide range of inspirational industry specialists. These included staff from Network Rail, practising engineers, Unilever and HE ambassadors. 

Nearly 40 students from four West Yorkshire schools took part in a series of practical, employer and HE led workshops that explored progression pathways, STEM careers, skills, and experience of the workplace. Activities included: 

• Building Bridges into engineering workshop featuring computer aided design (CAD) and material testing. 

• Hands-on exploration into Extended Reality (XR), which is revolutionising healthcare and consumer experiences. 

• A sustainable fashion workshop with a focus on the social and environmental impact of modern-day textiles, and ways in which this can be addressed. 

Students also had the opportunity to engage with an employer marketplace at the start of the day. This featured stands and interactive activities that helped to highlight the variety of career options and educational pathways available within STEM.  

Increased knowledge and awareness 

Preliminary analysis of learner survey results show that they have an increased understanding of what it is like to work in STEM industries after attending the event (32.4% pre-event, increasing to 74.7% post-event). 

They also report an increase in hands-on experience of skills they may need in their future STEM career after attending the event (48.6% pre-event, rising to 83.3% post-event). 

The event was well received by employers and academics. Julie Bamford (Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, Kirklees College) said that events such as Go Higher In STEM help, “to inspire [young people to] look at engineering. If we can inspire just one individual, then we’ve done our job.” 

Olivia Skilbeck (facilitator and University of Leeds PhD student) said: “Studying STEM doesn’t necessarily mean focusing on the four key topics; it can be taken into any aspect of any career.” 

Upcoming events 

GHWY and WYCA will deliver three more Go Higher In… events in 2025-26 focusing on the growing industry sectors of digital, healthcare, and business skills. Guided by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), they will provide students with high quality and meaningful experiences of the workplace. They will also offer insights into progression pathways, employer interactions, and real-life skills development.