STEM careers charity calls for female maritime professionals to inspire girls at roadshow

A maritime educational charity is looking for successful women in the maritime industry to act as role models and ambassadors for its new initiative aimed at schoolgirls in years 7 and 8 (aged 11-13).

The 1851 Trust is the official charity of the British America’s Cup challenger INEOS TEAM UK, led by Sir Ben Ainslie. Its purpose is to encourage more young women to embark on STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in the maritime industry.

The charity's latest initiative is the Maritime Roadshow for Girls, which starts in Cardiff in November, followed by London, Newcastle and other UK cities.

The dates and venues are yet to be finalised, but during each roadshow date up to 150 girls will take part in a multi-activity day, combining;

• an inspiration zone – small group sessions with female representatives from participating companies helping the girls find out about the range of jobs available through studying STEM subjects and that these careers are interesting and achievable
• an investigation zone – girls undertake a series of practical science and technology activities (such as coding Lego, STEM Crew mini-session, messy science activity)
• activities designed to develop confidence and self-belief

Talking to Nautilus about the need for volunteers at the roadshows, the Trust’s head of operations and sailing programmes Kate Mardel-Ferreira said: ‘First hand encounters with successful females in STEM are massively impactful in empowering young women into making informed choices about potential further education that may lead to a maritime career path.’

In March this year, on International Women's Day, UK shipping minister Nusrat Ghani announced that the Department for Transport had given £100,000 to the 1851 Trust as a grant towards the roadshows.

For more information on the Maritime Roadshow for Girls and to discuss taking part, email the 1851 Trust. Below is a video from a previous event giving an idea of what the roadshow will be like.