PM Group’s Impact on Education
Overview of the partnership
PM Group in Ireland has been supporting local schools for over 20 years. We have always been keen to share our knowledge and love of STEM to inspire younger generations. Our Schools and Education programme is driven by our enthusiastic staff who give of their time and knowledge generously. Investing in Education supports our business strategy of attracting and retaining the very best people to deliver innovative and sustainable design and project delivery services to our clients. We have a particular focus on Gender Equality (supporting initiatives such iwish) and local community Education projects such as Engineers Week and Junior Achievement. We are always trying to improve how we show young people the myriad of practical applications of engineering and showing them the great careers that are available in their local area. Over time we have developed our Educational offering from talks to more novel ways of sharing our love of engineering – from Lego Construction Workshops to Foam Rollercoaster Design Challenges, the challenge is to keep it interesting and fun.
Implementing best practice
Our involvement in Education is a whole community approach with local Councils, Chambers, 3rd level institutions, schools and other businesses working together. This ensures that the focus is about maximising the number of children we can engage with, in a multitude of ways and that we are constantly upping our game to deliver a great experience. PM Group provides approximately 1500 hours every year in Ireland to run and support our various Education initiatives. The only requirement for our volunteers is a love of education and particularly STEM and a desire to share their knowledge in a fun and engaging way.
The Impact
Our offices in Dublin and Cork are in disadvantaged areas and many of the children tell us that they had no idea of the many practical uses of engineering and how it is all around us. Their excitement for the programmes are infectious and we believe we have turned on a light in them that may not have been ignited otherwise.
Just as importantly our staff who volunteer enjoy sharing their knowledge in a fun, engaging way. Many return year after year to support the programme. “Girls aren’t often aware of the opportunities that an engineering career can bring. Hopefully STEPs can get young people, and girls in particular, thinking about the world in terms of engineering and what can be achieved through it” Added Siobhan Palmer, Civil/Structural Engineer.
In 2019 we supported:
- Junior Achievement: 25 volunteers reached 600+ kids
- Engineers Week & STEPS: 30 volunteers reached 700+ kids
- 40 Transition Year placements
- €100K bursaries for 2 local schools
- 12 volunteers supported 100+ students in 3rd level Mentoring
PM Group’s Impact in 2019
PM Group provided €40,107 in cash donations; €83,843 was contributed in In-Kind Donations and €35,310 was raised through employee fundraising. Employees also contributed 2,047 hours of volunteering with local groups and projects during the year.
