Highways England encourages young people into engineering
Highways England is giving young people a fun taste of engineering as it builds on its ambition to recruit road builders of the future.
The company is using its presence at the Big Bang Fair 2018 to encourage young people to take up three challenges to test their engineering skills in connection with the Year of Engineering taking place across 2018.
One is a gaming challenge asking 11-14 year olds how they would connect two separated communities.
A second invites young Fair visitors to try their hand at being a Traffic Officer, and the third tests their maths skills to work out the right speed limits to use on motorways to keep traffic moving smoothly.
Highways England’s Early Talent Specialist Charlotte Potter said:
Engineering is an exciting career and we are encouraging more children to become the engineers of the future. Our three challenges on our stand at the Big Bang Fair show the variety of work we do, from major projects to connect communities to the daily job of keeping our roads flowing. We hope young people will be inspired by the variety of roles we offer and look to Highways England as an employer.
A Big Bang Fair visitor tries one of the challenges at the Highways England stand
The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, taking place until 17 March at the NEC, Birmingham, is a celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for young people in the UK, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
Highways England needs a continuing pipeline of young engineers to help deliver the massive investment planned for the country’s motorways and major A-roads, benefitting the economy and improving people’s lives. Over the next few months the company will be taking on 75 apprentices and 35 graduates.
Simulator
A Big Bang Fair visitor experiences the Highways England simulator
The Highways England driver simulator will test participants’ awareness skills as they use this technology and real-life scenarios to experience life on the road. Could they make it as a Traffic Officer to access the incident safely and quickly?
Connecting Communities
Highways England has developed a gaming challenge for children to try and solve. The task is a classic engineering problem; connecting two separated communities with either a bridge or tunnel. But how will they do it?
Variable Speed Limits
Highways England has devised a maths-based activity around traffic flow data to demonstrate how variable speed limits are needed on motorways to smooth the flow of traffic.
To find out more about the roles, apprenticeships or graduate placements within Highways England, and sign up for e-mail alerts visit Highways England’s careers homepage.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.
Updates to this page
Last updated 16 March 2018 + show all updates
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Added a link to the Year of Engineering
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First published.