Aid to Education
Our goal is to enhance the experience and opportunities available to students by working with schools, higher education institutions and educational charities.
We recognise the shortage of young people choosing science and engineering studies - disciplines directly related to the interests of our company. Therefore many of our social investment activities in this area are intended to excite students about science and engineering, whilst encouraging them to follow related-professions.
Institutions or organisations which serve, or are part of the education system are considered for support, particularly those that are located and in areas close to our plants and offices or where a significant number of our employees live and work.
Recent projects:
Engineering Careers for College Students
 Two young Air Products’ engineers, Paul Denton and Gareth Pemberton, presented to 100 sixth-form students at ‘Engineering Your Future’ an event aimed to encourage young people to follow a career in Engineering.
The day-long seminar was run by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE), Institute of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Engineering and Technology and SETPOINT for college students studying science and maths subjects.
Paul Denton control and instrument engineer said: "This was a great opportunity for us to encourage students to think about following a career in engineering. The shortage of young people entering our industry means it is really important we do as much as we can to redress this imbalance and help build the next generation of engineers."
Gareth Pemberton, quality control engineer and also an IMechE committee member at their Benelux branch said: "As part of our IMechE chartership we have to take part in community activities that promote the engineering profession; and the Engineering your Future event was an excellent way to do this with the support of Air Products. The students seemed to really enjoy the sessions and many were keen to hear about the Engineering Development Programme Air Products offers."
Awarding young talent
 The Young Apprentice is an annual competition coordinated by local Surrey school, Rydens. The competition uses a similar format to that of BBC series “The Apprentice” and aims to teach students about real business practice.
May 2007 saw Air Products host the semi-finals. The students, aged 16-17 years old, were challenged to raise money for local charity Wildlife Aid, with whom Air Products has a long standing relationship. The students had to demonstrate good communication, innovation, teamwork and leadership skills in order to get through to the final.
Finalists later faced a ‘Stock Broking’ challenge and the winner was crowned The Young Apprentice, winning a week’s work experience at Air Products as well as a brand new MP3 player.
Stephen Cabrera, business and enterprise director at Rydens said: “It’s a real advantage to have a global company such as Air Products involved in this project and it also fits in perfectly with Rydens specialist school status in Business and Enterprise. The student’s have had the opportunity to pitch and implement their ideas in a local, professional, business environment and will have gained some real life experience whilst raising lots of money for Wildlife Aid.”
Science is fun for primary school students
 Employees’ at our Wilton plant launched National Science and Engineering week at Newham Bridge Primary school in Middlesbrough. Pupils were presented with an exciting science demonstration, followed by ten brand new data-logging devices. Funded by Air Products, these hand-held mini computers, designed for outdoors, allow the children to record various data from the environment around them.
Jemma Hall, Facility Administrator at Wilton who organised the event, said: “Newham Bridge Primary does a wonderful job of nurturing their children and providing the best tools they can to build a bright future for every pupil. With Air Products' help, it is hoped the children can pitch their aspirations higher, and fulfill their true potential, hopefully, in the world of science.”
Recently Air Products’ commitment to education was recognised at the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) Annual Celebration event, which celebrated successful links between industrial organisations and education in the region.
Air Products’ UK Science and Engineering Ambassador Programme is also a large part of our efforts in Education, tell me more… |
