Breaking down barriers to build confident engineers of the future – EDT and Leonardo celebrate 20 year partnership

We are delighted to announce that we are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of our partnership with global security company Leonardo, marking two decades of collaboration on a core mission: to give young people innovative hands-on engineering experiences that unlock their undiscovered creative engineering talent.  

Since 2005, we have partnered with Leonardo to give students what is often their first taste of engineering through fun problem-solving challenges, where they are asked to see an issue from an engineer’s perspective, then build a solution.

Michelle Strange, UK STEM Lead at Leonardo in the UK said: “Our first task is to find ways to encourage young people from diverse and often unrepresented communities to see themselves as engineers. Our mission is to break through any perceived barriers and replace feelings of ‘I can’t’ with the conviction ‘I built this’. The only prerequisite is curiosity and a desire to create.”

Our initiatives supported by Leonardo have included our Industrial Cadets programmes, mentored projects, work experience and placements and Routes into STEM experiences.

Despite progress in STEM education, inequality remains a pressing challenge. Disadvantaged pupils are 44% less likely to progress to Level 3 STEM qualifications after secondary school compared to their more affluent peers (Education Policy Institute). Research also shows that underrepresentation within STEM industries continues to perpetuate these inequalities. This is a trend that EDT and Leonardo are seeking to address.

Over the past three years alone, around 70% of the students supported by Leonardo have come from disadvantaged backgrounds, many without access to educational resources or role models in STEM. Through programmes commissioned through our partnership, Leonardo provides these students with meaningful opportunities to develop work-readiness skills, engage with industry mentors and explore pathways into rewarding STEM careers, including Defence, one of the UK Government’s eight designated growth sectors, supporting greater social mobility.

Kat, who was first introduced to Leonardo while taking part in an EDT delivered programme, has come full circle and now works as a Systems Engineer at the company. She commented, “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with EDT to connect to students and watch them be inspired and grow. I was especially impressed with students being empowered enough to build a “Pluto rover” in my first Industrial Cadets mentorship and most recently to see students harnessing existing infrastructures to see if they could produce green electricity.”

This work closely aligns with the UK Government’s ambition for 10% of young people to be pursuing higher technical education or apprenticeships in the skills the economy needs by 2040. To help achieve this goal, the government is investing nearly £800 million in additional funding for 16 to 19-year-olds next year (The Independent), a move that underlines the importance of initiatives like our long standing partnership with Leonardo in preparing young people for the future workforce.

Julie Feest, CEO of EDT and Industrial Cadets explained, “Over the past 20 years, EDT and Leonardo have been at the forefront of transforming opportunities in STEM for thousands of young people across the UK. Together, we introduced students to the excitement of engineering, technology and innovation, helping them see that careers in these industries are not only achievable but inspiring. I’d personally like to say a huge thank you for so many years of continued support and we look forward to continuing our partnership and playing a key role in shaping a more diverse and inclusive STEM workforce of the future.”