Following a competitive application process, 12 engineering firms have joined the Royal Academy of Engineering’s new program to deliver impactful interventions supporting inclusive leadership in an engineering context.
The Inclusive Leadership Program is the result of a six-month advisory and advisory project involving 60 engineering industry experts from organizations across the UK. They contributed valuable insights to help the Academy develop a framework to deliver a range of interventions to promote inclusion in engineering.
Latest academic report on Inclusive cultures It showed that the UK engineering profession needs to accelerate its quest to become more inclusive if the UK is to continue to play a major role in the global race for engineering skills. The leaders of an organization play a crucial role in creating its culture and those at the highest levels are particularly influential and thus key to the development of an inclusive culture.
The Inclusive Leadership Program is an exciting opportunity for participating organizations to lead the engineering profession into a more inclusive future. The 12 companies selected for the pilot project assembled a multidisciplinary team of four: three are early, mid- and senior career leaders, along with a human resources specialist.
Over the next 18 months, team members will have access to knowledge and guidance on holistic leadership including through comprehensive and in-depth leadership training; mutual direction; nurturing; Peer-to-peer training and workshops. Teams will apply their learning by creating and implementing an inclusion project focused on increasing inclusivity within their team, products or services.
The participating companies are:
- ABL
- AB Dynamics
- British Pipeline Agency
- Costin
- evolved
- ITP Aero UK
- MacDonald’s death
- ESO National Grid
- Rolls-Royce SMR
- Thales
- Manufacturing Technology Center
- Zurich Engineering
The Academy will implement the program with the help of a range of organizations: Including (holistic consulting); Honne (vocational training professionals); and the Social Innovation Partnership (assessment experts).
The Inclusive Leadership Program is part of the Academy’s broader efforts to support the engineering industry in embracing diversity and inclusive practices.
Joanna Whitman is Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Royal Academy of EngineeringHe says: “To really move the dial at inclusion, we need to be bold in our exploration of what works. We are keen to seize opportunities to blend new and established interventions in striving to learn from the successes and challenges that emerge.
“In line with our strategic goals of fostering talent and diversity, this initiative holds great promise. We look forward to extending the valuable lessons learned from the Inclusive Leadership Program, and expanding its impact to reach the many companies seeking to build an inclusive workforce.”