AFBE-UK Brochure 2018

Getting Involved There are many ways in which you can get involved and support us. You can support us through membership and donations. We also welcome contributions through provision of venues and collaboration on our programmes. Get in touch with us at info@afbe.org.uk to find out more.

Annual Subscription fees are £30 for full time professionals and £10 for students. Corporate membership of AFBE-UK is also open to all engineering and non- engineering organisations.

For Organisations Brand recognition

Recognised by Government and institutions working in the diversity in engineering space, your brand will become more visible to diverse community groups as one that recognises the importance of engagement

Develop your staff

Present an exciting opportunity for your staff to develop communication skills to non-typical audiences and work towards professional competencies. If applicable your staff could develop competencies towards chartership.

Use of our Recruitment platform and search through our CV database

Advertise all jobs on our website and with direct targeted emails to our database.

Adding value

Stimulating and rewarding fresh challenge for your staff members as well as a sense of pride when they volunteer with AFBE-UK.

Meeting your targets sustainability targets

New insight into ways of working within the community while meeting your sustainability targets with case studies.

Community Engagement

Be publicly recognised for your skills and expertise in engaging the diverse communities where your offices are located

For individuals Mentoring

You can be assigned to an industry mentor or become a mentor to others

Volunteering

With Programmes like MEH and Transition, there are plenty of opportunities to help engage and inspire the next generation of engineers. In turn, you get to develop your CPD which contributes to attaining chartership status for engineering professionals

Networking

We have several seminars and networking opportunities where we bring people from within our industry together

Connections

We hold two advisory board meetings per year, these present opportunities to meet high profile engineers and industry leaders in addition to our networking events.

Meeting your personal goals and ambitions

Be exposed to industry insights in a safe space where you can share your challenges and get support and advice

Community Engagement

Be publicly recognised for your skills in inspiring others

For further information, visit the website at www.afbe.org.uk or e-mail info@afbe.org.uk Social media: Follow our updates via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

About Us AFBE-UK (Association for BME Engineers) is a registered notfor-profit organisation that promotes higher achievements in education and engineering particularly among people from black and minority ethnicity (BME) backgrounds.

AFBE-UK was founded in 2007 in London as a network of engineers who enjoy what they do, seek to engage the industry and make a positive contribution to the community. These goals are achieved through our programmes including Making Engineering Hot, Next Gen, Transition, Real Projects, Round Table and Mentoring AFBE-UK also contributes to sustainable development in developing countries. We currently have three chapters across UK. To find out more about AFBE-UK and the work we do visit our websites; www.afbe.org.uk and www.afbescotland.org for activities in Scotland.

In eleven years of service: l We have grown our network reaching and engaging with over 6500 individuals from ethnic minority communities. l Partnered with more than 35 employers and institutions on our career programmes. l Supported more than 1000 university students into employment through our CV clinics and career programmes. l Engaged more than 2000 young people in more than 40 schools all over the UK

through our schools outreach programmes and providing work placements through our network of employers. l Been recognised in publications on best practice by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chartered Institute of Highways Transportation, Department for Transport, Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills, Aberdeen City Council, Energy, institute a host of engineering institutions and companies, and third sector organisations. l AFBE-UK’s Flagship programme Making Engineering Hot Shortlisted for the BITC Race for Opportunity Leadership Award in 2012. l Featured in national and local media publications such as the Independent, Evening standard, Oil and Gas News and The Voice newspaper l Involved in initiatives such as the Queen Elizabeth’s engineering prize, the House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Engineering Group for apprenticeship and diversity in STEM, the ICE’s International Development Policy and Practice Panel and the RAEng’s Africa Catalyst.

2018 Key events and Highlights in London 2018 has been an excellent year for AFBE-UK as the organisation continues to grow and make remarkable achievements in championing diversity within and beyond the engineering sphere. We are excited to share the following highlights with you:

how safety is executed in these industries. In May, we explored Big Data and its increasing use in the world of Engineering which generated lots of engaging discussion points for the attendants and an opportunity to network too! In Scotland monthly seminars have included topics such as “ How I turned my PhD into a Business” and “The state of industrial of Cyber-security”.

New Sponsors This year has seen top companies become organisational members and sponsors of AFBE-UK. These include, leading Engineering Consultancies, Mott Macdonald, WSP, Pall Corporation, Hyperion and Bloomberg. AFBE-UK would like to welcome our new sponsors, we are excited to work with them on our programmes including Transition, Making Engineering Hot and Real Projects

Making Engineering Hot AFBE-UK’s Making Engineering Hot! Campaign launched a new Mentoring Programme this year. Funded by BBC Children In Need and in association with 2018 Year of Engineering, the 3-year programme aims to engage with young people aged 12-18 years old in Southwark, Newham and Hackney.

In the last school year, over 40 school visits took place with 250 young people and Counterpart programme NextGen in Scotland also engaged with over 300 school age children in Aberdeen.

This included week day engineering activities and weekend mentoring and employability skills sessions. The young people showed enthusiasm in our robotics project run by Dr Safia Barikzai of LSBU. Best performing students in mock interviews were awarded a 2-week paid work placement.

Over 25 engineering professionals were trained as mentors and volunteered.

We are currently recruiting Programme Coordinators and Session Staff www.afbe.org.uk/ jobs. To be a mentor email meh@afbe.org.uk.

that we were not aiming to obtain one job offer but at least two! Leaping at the first job offer was not an option but rather having two job offers to choose from was the aspiration. This truly reflected that the aim of AFBE was not to help me find any job but to help me secure the best possible option for my career. Within six months of starting my journey with my AFBE mentor I stood very giddily with not one but two offers – a reality which I would not have thought possible a few months ago. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to AFBE and all of its members who have been a source of inspiration and affirmation and navigated me to push through the glass ceiling and unlock my maximum potential“

By Ally Mamgain

Roundtable Launched this year, Roundtable is a discussion forum serving as a “safe space” for engineers to discuss challenges. In March 2018, the first session tagged “overcoming cultural impediments in the workplace” saw professionals of varied levels and backgrounds of industry share life experiences and useful tips on how to overcome cultural limitation in the workplace. The second was held in May 2018, themed “breaking the glass ceiling” and followed in the same success as the previous.

Transition Many talented graduates stumble at the first post because they do not have sufficient interviewing skills. Transition provides them with a safe environment where they can participate in mock interviews with senior engineers and managers.

This year we have collaborated successfully with top institutions and companies including LSBU, Shell and Bloomberg, with some fantastic success stories and outcomes. There are further Transition events to look forward to before the year is rounded up. These include: Transition in London (a joint event by Mott Macdonald & WSP), Transition in Scotland with Shell and Transition @ DMU, Leicester. We hope to engage even more students and support them to securing employment.

To volunteer or sponsor an event email us at transition@afbe.org.uk Below is an excerpt from a testimonial written by one of the students who attended the event

Real Projects AFBE-UK’s forum for knowledge exchange between professionals and students on current relevant engineering topics. Our first seminar in London held in March, looked at Safety and Assurance in the Engineering Industry with focus on the railway, oil and gas industries. This attracted a lot of professionals who left with enhanced insight on

“Networking’ was extensively advertised throughout my years at university, but I never made time to attend such events having been sceptical about their usefulness. Seeing my desperation to get out of the vicious cycle of spending hours on job applications and preparing for assessment centres only to get no positive outcome, my friend told me about AFBE and an upcoming ‘Transition Event...... Throughout the job hunt, my mentor constantly reminded me

There’s some truth in the old saying that getting a job is about being in the right place at the right time.

And in my story, this is the moment when I came across AFBE-UK. AFBE-UK gave me everything that I needed to be successful in securing a placement.

I was very lucky to hear about Transition Event at Bloomberg. The workshop provided me with realistic lenses on what is required to be employed and to work in my chosen sector. Professional engineers checked my CV, conducted an individual mock interview and gave me an immediate feedback.

There was also a group activity where the assessors identified my weaknesses and pointed the mistakes.

Throughout the event I could network with professional engineers from various companies to broaden my knowledge about the industry and get the best advices. The Transition workshop boosted my self-confidence and gave me back the confidence that enabled me to land the internship of my dreams.

The next day I received a constructive feedback on my performance which helped me to discover my strengths and weaknesses. The Transition events organised by AFBE prepared me for the Assessment Centre and provided me with numerous networking opportunities. Thanks to the support and guidance of my mentor and in general of AFBE-UK throughout all the process of job searches, job applications, CV and Cover Letter writing, I have secured a placement with PALL Corporation. I would recommend AFBE to any Student or Graduate who needs assistance with their placement or career opportunities, I’m glad I did!

By Milena Rakszawska If you would like to participate in any of these programmes, please visit our website at: www.afbe.org.uk

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