GHD Foundation and Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) enhance Indigenous engineering education opportunities

Research has shown that early engagement is pivotal to encourage entry into engineering careers, especially for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Enhancing access to engineering education and careers is crucial, given that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people only make up 0.3 per cent of the engineering workforce.

Indigenous-led Youth Outreach Program aims to introduce young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to engineering and inspire them to consider it as an education and career option. The program is an initiative of the Indigenous Engineers Group (IEG) from Engineers Australia, supported by EWB Australia, and will link young people, families, and teachers with resources, mentoring and pathways to engineering. The objective is to reach remote communities that are unfamiliar with or have limited access to such opportunities.

In line with the program’s goal of fostering deeper engagement amongst students and involving First Nations role models, GHD Foundation supported the second pilot of the program held in Derby, West Kimberley region, WA. Children aged from 7-17 years took part in activities exploring the worlds of flight and sound and took on roles in varying engineering disciplines to explore a real-world engineering project.

“At Engineers Without Borders Australia, we harness the potential of engineering to create an equitable world. Recognising that unlocking this potential requires diversity, we are committed to supporting pathways for those who are less represented in the engineering profession,” says Eleanor Loudon, CEO of Engineers Without Borders.

“Our support for the Indigenous-led Youth Outreach Program hopes to encourage more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to discover their passion for engineering, growing a much-needed perspective on how we build communities. This collaboration with EWB Australia helps realise GHD Foundation’s mission to provide more equitable access to science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics education,” says Jo Metcalfe, GHD Foundation Managing Director.