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Championing Young Engineers in 2021

At Swegon, we welcome the announcement of this year’s shortlist for the CIBSE Young Engineers’ Awards.

After sponsoring the awards programme for more than a decade, we are once again delighted to see the array of talent that has made the finals event, which takes place on October 14.

20 young engineers and six companies have made it to the three shortlists comprising Apprentice, Graduate and Employer of the Year awards.

The Apprentice category, introduced last year, has been extended in 2021 with separate awards for Technician (Level 3-4), and Degree (level 5-7), to give better recognition to the growing range of routes into the industry.

The Graduate of the Year award is now in its 26th year and will see eight finalists challenged to show off their knowledge and communication skills in a live five-minute presentation on the topic: ‘What challenges will engineers have to overcome to deliver sustainable and safe built environments for future generations?

As well as championing emerging talent, the Awards also recognise the vital role played by employers who support and encourage young engineers through training, mentoring and initiatives which place them at the heart of their business. Clear inclusive strategies for recruiting and empowering young people are recognised in the shortlist for Employer of the Year 2021.

Confident
“The young engineers shortlisted represent some of our best emerging talent,” said CIBSE President Kevin Kelly. “We can feel confident that the future of our profession lies in safe hands. These young engineers are up for and fit to take on the challenge of creating safe, healthy and climate-supporting cities of the future.”

At Swegon, we believe that young engineers now have an increasingly important role to play in shaping the strategies adopted by building services firms because of the long-term commitments the sector now faces.

Championing and investing in young talent is a key priority for us, and the talented individuals we see each year at the Young Engineers’ Awards final reaffirms our confidence that the building services profession has a bright future.

The Awards event comes just a few weeks before the pivotal COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, which reminds us of the key role the building services profession has to play in addressing the climate crisis, but also that future generations will bear the brunt if we fail to meet our low carbon responsibilities – and will have the most to gain if we are successful.

The ‘Class of 2021’ have a fantastic opportunity to lead the process of change in our industry thanks to their natural affinity with digital and ‘smart’ building techniques.

The younger generation is also naturally collaborative and comfortable with sharing information and ideas across our sector’s supply chains – this will be increasingly important as we confront the challenging times ahead.

We welcome the ongoing opportunity to collaborate with CIBSE, an emerging cohort of young engineers as well as their employers and supply chain partners to help set the future engineering agenda.

It is our mission to support building services in delivering great indoor climates. We want to help facilitate that with our knowledge and experience – from start to finish of the process.

For more information about the Young Engineers’ Awards go to: www.cibse.org/yea