STEM campaign aimed at inspiring women in South Tyneside hailed a 'major success'

A campaign encouraging young South Tyneside women to pursue science, tech, engineering and maths (STEM)-related careers has been hailed a major success.

Over the last two years, the STEMettes Leadership Academy has helped 71 women in the borough aged 15-24 develop their leadership skills and learn more about STEM careers.

The hosting of the programme coincided with the tenth anniversary of STEMettes, the national charity which was founded in 2013. Since then, over 50,000 women across the UK have participated in its events, with young women from South Tyneside among the latest to join its inspired alumni.

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, CEO, Head of Stemette & Co-Founder Stemettes said: “Stemettes partnership with South Tyneside has opened up future leaders & innovators in young women and non-binary folk from across the South Tyneside area.

“They’ve had a STEAM & STEM confidence boost towards their potential and have conected with role models and peers for career advice. We’ve seen lots of skill building and problem solving on climate change for South Tyneside and beyond across our collaboration.”

Led by South Tyneside Council in partnership with the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the South Tyneside programme was aimed to ‘raise the aspiration and confidence of young women’ across the borough. A total of 45 young women from Jarrow School, Harton Academy and St Joseph’s Academy participated in the programme, as well as 26 young women from Nissan and local colleges.

Tom Nightingale, North East stakeholder manager at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which funded the programme via its Dogger Bank Community Fund, said: “The STEMettes programme by South Tyneside is an invaluable initiative that Dogger Bank Wind Farm is proud to support.

“Our aim is to not only motivate, but also empower the youth in this region to explore and excel in STEM fields, unlocking opportunities in industries like the dynamic offshore wind industry. With the North East England being a prominent cluster for offshore wind, we are eager to showcase the endless possibilities to the next generation of leaders in the energy sector.

Cllr Jane Carter lead member for Education and Skills at South Tyneside Council, added: “It is vital that we encourage our young women to harness STEM skills. By taking advantage of these opportunities, they now have the knowledge, skills and aspiration to become the leaders and innovators of the future.

“I’d like to place on record my thanks to the business community for their involvement with this outstanding programme.”

Some of the borough’s biggest employers supported the programme, including Port of Tyne, A&P Tyne, Wates, and South Tyneside College, each of which provided advice and support and offered work placements to those involved.

One of the young women to participate in the programme was Emily Booth, a Year 11 student from St Joseph’s Catholic Academy.

She said: “I was very lucky being able to attend a Stemette’s event. It allowed me to gain advice from inspiring and influential women from the North East, learn new skills in coding as well as an understanding of the job opportunities available to women in STEM. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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