Evaluation of the impact of the STEM Ambassadors programme upon STEM Ambassadors

STEM Learning is the largest provider of STEM education and careers support to schools, colleges and community groups in the UK providing training, CPD sessions, free resources and governor support. The STEM Ambassador programme is one of STEM Learning’s ways of building young people’s awareness and interest in STEM careers. The programme is in its 20th year of being run by STEM Learning and with this, they have amassed over 25,000 STEM Ambassador volunteers from over 7,000 employers, who work with young people in schools and the community to provide the vital connection between STEM employers and young people. As long as you have experience within industry and/or STEM subjects you can be a STEM Ambassador, providing support in the form of workshops, mentoring, careers talks and enrichment days. The purpose of the evaluation that we undertook was to explore the Ambassadors’ experiences of the programme, the impact of the programme both on their volunteering and those they engage with and the effect of COVID-19 on the programme and shifts to virtual engagement. The evaluation found that motivations to participate in the programme were borne from wanting to raise awareness of STEM amongst young people and inspire the next generation. Young STEM Ambassadors in particular were seen to gain most skills from their volunteering roles and believed that volunteering was particularly important for their career progression. The STEM Ambassador programme was generally very well received by its volunteers who had adapted well to a virtual and hybrid version of their role during COVID-19, and it was expressed that many believed that their role had a positive impact on engaging schools and young people in STEM activities and careers.