FCDO Services at the MK Innovates STEM Festival

During 12-13 October 2023, our organisation proudly exhibited at the MK Innovates STEM Festival, held at the Unity Hall in Milton Keynes (MK). Hosted by the Women Leaders UK charity, it aimed to encourage more young girls and females to get into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers.

At FCDO Services, we support the diplomatic service by keeping assets, information and people safe and secure worldwide. From structural to technical, we have many different types of engineers working for us and women are represented across all of these disciplines.

Our organisation is committed to attracting more females into our fascinating and critical industry. As such, we were pleased to join around 30 other exhibitors from across the city, including colleges, universities and employers, inspiring future engineers.

A day dedicated to women

Our Outreach Team and apprentices spent the first day speaking to a variety of women. They were interested in discovering how they could get into these types of careers, and connected with potential employers and other like-minded individuals in the community.

Whether they were new to the world of work, returning to it or seeking to change careers altogether, we shared useful information with them on the careers and current roles we have on offer at FCDO Services. As well as, what it’s like to live and work in Milton Keynes.

Inspiring the next generation of female engineers

Over 1,500 young students from across MK and the surrounding areas visited on the second day, aged between 5-18 years old.

To spark their interest in studying and working in STEM subjects, our Technical Engineering Apprentices built interactive activities for them to learn more about engineering in a fun way.

Made in our Skills Workshop at Hanslope Park, this included a marble run game, a colour exercise to match copper and fibre cables, and a task to terminate an Ethernet cable.

These physical activities helped students discover how the internet, something that they use every day, gets into their homes and schools. It also brought to life what an engineer does and how important they are for maintaining our modern world.

The response was overwhelming positive, with lots of students and teachers wanting to take part and find out more about being an engineer.

Visit our careers website to discover more about the variety of careers we have on offer, and the types of roles you or a loved one could do in the future. Take that first step today to become a future engineer!