Great Celebrations for Engineers Week

The Engineering industry in Ireland is currently very strong and supports a broad range of companies across numerous sectors. It is estimated that there are 73,000 engineers in Ireland, with approximately 5,100 students graduating with Level 6 – Level 9 engineering qualifications each year, providing a solid candidate base for the future. A great way to showcase the success of engineers in Ireland is ‘Engineers Week’, which took place between March 2nd and 8th.  The theme was ‘Engineering our Future’ and Fastnet took this opportunity to shine the spotlight on our engineers and engineering through blogs, school & college visits, and volunteering.  

Over the course of Engineers Week, Fastnet shone the spotlight on our engineers.  John McCarthy, Project Engineer NPI with DePuy, and Tatiana Ryan, Project Manager with APC, who shared with us why they chose engineering as a career, gave us an insight into their typical day, and what advice they would give to the next generation. 

In addition, our Talent Consultants participated in Waterford Institute of Technology's Science Career Day.  This proved to be a great opportunity to meet with faculty staff, 4th year students, and industry stakeholders.  Jim Bergin, CEO of Glanbia Ireland, spoke very passionately about the impact companies can make on developing and supporting local communities.

Éimhín O’ Driscoll, Head of Operations, visited Scoil Nicolais’ 6th class and talked about the great Irish women who have made an impact on engineering and science.  Fastnet Talent Consultant Sinead Casey gave us a snapshot of what it is like to work in the Engineering Business Unit in Fastnet.

Finally, Fastnet colleagues Laura Curtin and Edgar Strakovskij volunteered at Cork’s Lifetime Lab, who hosted a ‘Meet the Engineers’ Family Fun Day.  Activities included driving VEX robots, LEGO construction challenges, connecting snap circuits, following engineering trails, and lots more.  Hundreds of children and adults enjoyed a series of stands and activities discovering the many roles of engineering.  This was a fantastic opportunity to experience first- hand the impact the Lifetime Lab had on Cork and learn about the role engineering played over the decades.