KEITH WYLIE ENGTECH MIMECHE

Engineering Manager, Heat Trace Ltd.

I have been actively involved in STEM events for a few years now and most of these were related to IMechE events. It was straight forward to get involved. Firstly, I joined my local IMechE committee and assisted at a few ambassador events, I then looked into the STEM Ambassador role and signed up with both STEMNET and the IMechE Ambassador programmes.

I get great satisfaction volunteering my time to inspire the next generation of engineers and those young people who might not know a lot about what ‘engineers do’ or those who want to know if engineering would be a good career path. Growing up I do not remember an ambassador explaining that engineering would be good for me but I was lucky in that I was always actively engineering without even realising it, as I was a competitive motocross rider and helped my team with repairing or setting up my bike for racing. Some years into my engineering career, I thought one day, it would be great if I could inspire someone to get into engineering by highlighting all the great things engineers do to shape the world around us.

I have made a career from engineering and since becoming professionally registered with the Institution a few years back I got inspired by all those volunteers doing great work inspiring the next generation and I decided to try out some ambassador events. I instantly got the buzz and really enjoy assisting the IMechE STEM network when I can.

The benefits of volunteering as a STEM ambassador are meeting all the great young people who take inspiration from a brief conversation with them. I get a great feeling of satisfaction following ambassador events and nothing gives you more reason to volunteer as when you see the results of your work and an individual who later thanks you for inspiring them into a career in engineering. I also get to meet a lot of great people along the way and generally we all have something in common as engineers, even though you may work in very different industries.

I am responsible for mentoring engineering apprentices within my team as an Engineering Manager at Heat Trace, so learning how to talk to a young person to get them to listen to what I have to say is definitely a skill that needs nurturing! This role helps me at work when I have to inspire and encourage my own apprentices to shine in their role.

The Institution does a lot to inspire young people into engineering, but they rely heavily on the people on the ground, volunteers taking time out of their life to provide inspiration and encouragement. If you are passionate about engineering why not get involved in volunteering opportunities and you could make the difference by ensuring our great engineering culture in the UK sustains growth by encouraging new blood to join our community, and they too could go on to inspiring the next generation and the generation after that.

Read about Keith's EngTech Visionary award

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