WISE supported University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol with a project designed to improve the gender diversity of their STEM/Engineering Degree Apprenticeship programmes. By creating a My Skills My Life bespoke pack and training to deliver the resource, UWE Bristol hopes to inspire even more women to consider apprenticeships in the sector.
UWE Bristol partnered with WISE to use our expertise, resources and networks to enhance their apprenticeship programmes and foster diversity and inclusion in engineering, construction, digital and other key sectors.
About UWE Bristol
UWE Bristol has seen huge success over the past few years through their Women Like Me mentoring and outreach programme. They have seen a significant rise in female applicants to their STEM/engineering apprenticeship programmes, with women making up 37% of applications in 2024/25, compared to 20% the previous year. Last year, UWE Bristol secured additional funding from the Office for Students (OfS) to build on this work, which focuses on their degree apprenticeships such as Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Cyber Security and Product Design.
“At UWE Bristol we are delighted to partner with WISE to inspire more women to consider STEM apprenticeships. By highlighting real role models and providing accessible resources, we are helping young people see that these career pathways are open to them and achievable.” Sarah Behenna, Research Associate |
Investing in outreach: My Skills My Life
WISE provided UWE Bristol with My Skills My Life training and additional resources to equip their past and present apprenticeship cohorts to deliver My Skills My Life workshops to local schools, community groups and at events across the region. UWE Bristol have now reached over 1,000 young people with this resource.
Alongside this, we have worked with UWE Bristol to develop a bespoke My Skills My Life Apprenticeship pack, featuring current and previous apprentices.
This resource can be used during My Skills My Life sessions to highlight the diverse opportunities within apprenticeships and showcase the incredible role models who entered STEM through the same apprenticeship route.
Sharing good practice
As a committed WISE member, UWE Bristol understands the importance of inclusive best practice across the sector so on 27 January 2026, we hosted a joint, online event to share good practice on diversifying STEM apprenticeships. Simon Flenley and Sarah Behenna from UWE showcased their Women in Industry research and findings highlighting the importance of:
- Increasing awareness of Degree Apprenticeships within communities, reaching not just the young people but also their parents, teachers and other influential adults in their lives.
- Collaboration across universities, colleges/schools and employers.
- Providing tailored support for organisations to engage with apprenticeships, especially SMEs.
- The need for an accessible and standardised application process for apprenticeships.
We were also delighted to be joined by a panel of apprentices – Alexia Williams, Kate Wheatley and Cerise Mangat – who shared their personal experiences.
The importance of having dedicated support within universities and employers was key, along with having opportunities to network with other apprentices and their peers. Transparency and awareness of apprenticeships came through here too – how organisations should collaborate with local schools/colleges to build understanding, or ever simply educating their own workforces on this topic.
To complement this event, WISE has developed a supporting resource providing practical, evidence-based actions employers can take to improve recruitment, support apprentices in the workplace, and strengthen long term retention.
Useful links
- ‘Women in Industry’ wave 1 evaluation report 2024
- ‘Women Like Me’ project
- Laura Fogg-Rogers spoke at a recent WISE webinar to further discuss the success of their Women like me Mentoring scheme
(You must be logged into the WISE member area to view this) - Full research paper on Emerald Insight
(An account is required to view the full report)
If you’re interested in collaborating on a similar project with WISE, please email us on wise@theiet.org.