Facebook has joined the government’s Year of Engineering campaign
Online giant Facebook is setting up a mentorship programme to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK become engineers.
The US tech company said 120 wannabe engineers will receive one-to-one mentoring from its London based staff with monthly sessions until June 2019.
Facebook made the announcement at an open day at its London offices for 100 local primary schoolchildren.
It also pledged to join the government’s Year of Engineering campaign which aims to encourage Brits to consider engineering or technology-related careers and tackle a lack of diversity.
Source: Engineering UK
The government has to date joined forces with over 1, 400 partners as part of the campaign. It has given young people more than 750, 000 direct experiences of engineering, from behind the scenes tours to challenges linked to the engineering behind football, robotics and the environment.
Kyle McGinn, director of product at Facebook, said: ‘supporting emerging STEM talent is something we are really committed to, which is why were pleased to welcome hundreds of aspiring young engineers at our offices today and launch our mentoring programme.
“Were proud to say well be hiring hundreds more engineers in the next year as part of our wider investment to the UK and as we expand, we want to encourage the UK’s next generation of talent as part of our support for Year of Engineering and through our new mentorship program.
HM Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, Stephen Metcalfe, added: Engineering is a creative, trailblazing career that shapes the world around us, yet too many young people are in the dark about the opportunities it offers.
“Leading technology companies like Facebook play a vital role in inspiring the next generation of engineers and innovators, and it is wonderful to see so many young people given the opportunity to discover first-hand what an engineering career could look like.
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