2022 was all about Inclusion

The former CEO of Adecco Group Alain Dehaze once noted that Diversity requires commitment. Achieving the superior performance diversity can produce needs further action - most notably, a commitment to develop a culture of inclusion. People do not just need to be different; they need to be fully involved and feel their voices are heard. I believe these words sum up AFBE-UK ‘s message to the industry in 2022. For more than 15 years, AFBE-UK has sought to do two things; raise awareness of the benefits engineering brings both the individual and to society and we have sought to alert the industry to benefit of diversity to the industry not just as a moral responsibility but as the vital component of the infrastructure needed to meet society’s needs.

2022 showed us that those needs too are numerous; there is a cost-of-living crisis caused in part by increasing energy prices, in part by political decisions made regarding membership of the European Union and within a context in which we are still grappling with the aftermath of the 2020 global pandemic. Rather than bring about new challenges, I believe these crises bring to the surface underlying issues around diversity of energy supply, energy affordability, the need for the energy transition and the need for a sustainable future. Our message has been that a key part of the solution lies in diversity by widening participation in STEM and through inclusive recruitment. This part of our vision continued to be reflected in our emphasis in 2022. Whether it was our STEM initiatives, NextGen where our Young Coders known as “the Legends” competed favourably at the FIRSTLEGO tournaments making it to the Scottish Finals, the STEAM sessions in which we hosted amazing STEM Champions like Structural Engineering Roma Agrawal who gave us a Recipe for a Skyscraper and Motivez, CEO George Imafidon’ s The Kid from Peckham, or the successful Transition careers events run in partnerships with Mott MacDonald in Leeds and Glasgow. This was all about increasing representation and in any other year, this would have been enough but in 2022 AFBEUK’s emphasis really evolved to reflect inclusion.

This increased emphasis was plain to see at our first ever conference in April 2022. There at the IET Savoy Place, keynote speakers Chi Onwurah MP and UKRI CEO, Dame Ottoline Leyser looked at the 500 strong audience and remarked on just how much this very diverse audience reflected the industry of the future. From panel discussions and lectures all the way to the dinner dance in the evening everything about AFBELive reiterated the message of inclusion bringing to mind the words of Verna Myers who said that “Diversity is being asked to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.

Representation at all levels within a company is one of the clearest signs of an inclusive culture and in 2022 we launched our Transend course aimed at equipping those who desire to be leaders within their organisation with the tools to do so. We increased our partnerships to 70 each partner working with an AFBE representative to identify inclusion growth areas and committing to work on them. To provide these partners with a mean to monitor progress, we also launched the Engineering Ethnicity Index in October which help companies with a genuine desire for change identify ways of implementing that change based on successful initiatives already in existence.

Some of the most engaging events such as the session held on Neurodiversity by our industry events team only further illustrate this drive towards greater inclusion. We would like to thank everyone on our teams all over the UK and even abroad for being such amazing champions of change and demonstrating what leadership within community looks like.

2023

We will continue our focus on driving inclusion within organisations in four ways

1. The Engineering Ethnicity Index

2. Through our partnerships

3. Through our Transcend Course

4. Through events

Speaking of events, 2023 will see the return of our biennial Gala and Awards. This will hold at the P&J Live Aberdeen on the 23rd of November 2023. This black-tie event will bring together leaders from industry, community, and politics; it will be a night of multicultural entertainment, inspirational speeches, great food, and some worthy winners of awards like the STEM Champion of the Year, Company of the Year, Mentor of the Year, Young BME Professionals on the Year and BME Leader of the Year. Are you or anyone of your colleagues and friends potentially worthy nominees? Nominations open in February.

On behalf of the AFBE-UK family I would like to wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and more inclusive 2023

Dr Ollie Folayan CEng FIChemE AFBE-UK Co-Founder