How Scottish firm EnerMech is doing its bit for diversity

Support can include financial backing and in May this year EnerMech provided the Robert Gordon University (RGU) Foundation with a £10,000 ACCESS RGU scholarship to support under-represented students studying engineering.

EnerMech is an Aberdeen-headquartered company that provides mechanical services to the international energy sector and the first recipient of the EnerMech Scholarship is 19-year-old Adebowale Odukoya - aka Ade - a first year mechanical engineering student from Glasgow.

In addition to financial support, Ade will also receive mentoring and paid work experience from EnerMech throughout her four-year degree.

The company’s Shirley Smith, HR director, and Phil Bentley, technical director took some time from their schedules to expand on the scholarship and discuss the exciting opportunities that exist at EnerMech for engineering graduates.

In EnerMech’s experience, what are the major stumbling blocks encountered when hiring graduates and in what ways with involvement with the scholarship help to eradicate them?

EnerMech must compete with major companies to attract graduates, which can make it more challenging for us to attract and retain our graduate population.  However, the work we have to offer graduates is varied, highly technical and offers graduates the opportunity to see projects from start to finish.  By participating in the scholarship we can work with a student over the course of the degree to build up their knowledge of our business lines and project demands, whilst giving the student access to real life scenarios which will help their learning on the course.  We anticipate this will bring a benefit to both parties and engender some loyalty to the business.  It is also a way of increasing awareness within the university with regard to our commitment to developing people. Shirley Smith, HR director